Dozens of custodians and security guards in Ramsey and Hennepin counties may have been shorted more than $700,000 while working in libraries, detention facilities and other government buildings, according to SEIU Local 26, a union representing thousands of property service workers.

Union president Greg Nammacher says they reviewed workers’ paystubs and public records and found three contractors — PK Property Services, Squeaky Services, and Black Knight Protection Agency — have been underpaying workers $5 to $12 per hour in wages and benefits by failing to pay prevailing wages. Around 75 workers may be affected, Nammacher said.

PK Services, Squeaky Services and Black Knight Protection Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Companies with government contracts are often required to pay workers prevailing wages, which are set by labor regulators based on the local average wage paid to similarly employed workers.

But workers may not know that they’re entitled to pay and benefits above the minimum wage.

Gregory Murphy, who worked for Black Knight for four years at Hennepin County libraries, said he found out from a union organizer that he should be making $30.44 per hour including wages and benefits. He was only making $24.62 per hour.

“This is wage theft. Plain and simple,” Murphy said during a news conference on Thursday. “My coworkers and I work hard and deserve every dollar we earn.”

As of last week, Murphy works for a different contractor —  Unparalleled Security — providing security in Hennepin County libraries and is earning the prevailing wage.

Jhonnier Gazo said he, too, didn’t know he was entitled to prevailing wages — $27.80 per hour in wages and benefits — as a custodian for PK Services in the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center until he was approached by a union organizer. He was earning $18 per hour with no benefits.

“Although I’m afraid of losing my job, I am not afraid to raise my voice. I came to this country to work honest work, and I deserve the same honesty from my employer,” Gazo said in Spanish through an interpreter.

SEIU Local 26 says they submitted their findings to the Ramsey and Hennepin county attorneys offices, which are investigating the alleged wage violations.

SEIU Local 26 criticized Ramsey County last year for switching to non-union contractors, warning the move would lead to job losses and lower labor standards. At the time, PK Property Services already faced allegations of wage theft at an apartment development in Edina.

“Many of our members ultimately lost their jobs a year ago, and today we see that, unfortunately, our cause for concern has come to fruition,” Nammacher said.

In 2019, Minnesota legislators passed one of the most stringent wage theft laws in the country, making it a felony to steal more than $1,000, like other forms of theft. Yet few have been charged in the past six years.

Earlier this year, Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty secured the first felony conviction of a painting contractor. He was sentenced to three years probation.

-- Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer