The Kansas City Fair Contracting Alliance (KC FCA) is one of two organizations being awarded a sizable contract, $150,000 this year, to improve Kansas City, Missouri’s enforcement of fairness in construction. The KC-FCA will be responsible for monitoring in the 1st District, 4th District, and 6th District, where the vast majority of construction permits are being pulled. These districts include both airports, downtown, and the Country Club Plaza area, all home to major ongoing and projected construction projects.
“This is an immense moment for Kansas City. The Kansas City Fair Contracting Alliance is proud to have received this contract from the city and looks forward to making major strides in improving the fairness of construction in our region,” said KC FCA Director Manny Abarca. “We hope that we can build on this and eradicate unfair contracting practices in other municipalities in our region next.”
The Kansas City FCA has received significant amounts of support from both the union and non-union world, a rare moment that signifies how serious its mission is. The organization hopes to eventually cross statelines and also perform work in Kansas.
The Unified Contractors of Kansas City will be responsible for monitoring in the remaining three districts.
The Kansas City FCA will soon be hiring monitors to complete this work. These monitored will be trained by the city and will be authorized by the city to enter job sites to ensure that the law is being followed and workers are being paid properly.
“The Kansas City Fair Contracting Alliance is serious about working as a professional partner for municipalities in the Kansas City-metro and improving contracting standards in the construction industry,” said KC FCA Director of Monitoring Don Hunt.
About the Kansas City Fair Contracting Alliance
According to its website, “Fair Contracting Alliance (FCA) is a non- profit 501(c)(6) organization committed to promoting the improvement of business conditions and fair contracting standards in the construction industry both public and private, on behalf of Taxpayers, Workers, Owners, Contractors, and Contractor Associations.
“FCA provides its wage compliance expertise and resources to various government Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ’s) and enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with prevailing wage laws, overtime laws, worker misclassification laws, andlicensing requirements.
“Our efforts are designed to protect workers and taxpayer dollars by promoting fair, competitive contracting and by combating the plague of wage theft and tax fraud long prevalent in this region’s construction industry.”
Don Hunt has been hired to become the organization’s Director of Monitoring. Manuel “Manny” Abarca IV is the Director of the FCA. Dave Coleman was elected the president of the KC FCA Board, replacing Carlos Gomez of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City who served as the interim president.
