City Council approves wage theft ordinance in 9–2 vote; data center proposals sent for study

By Neil Zolot

The Everett City Council approved final ordainment of an ordinance promoting fair labor standards and preventing wage theft by a vote of 9-2 at their meeting on Monday, April 27, with Councillor-at-Large Michael Marchese and Ward 1 Councillor Michele Capone dissenting. It reads, “The purpose is to promote fair labor standards and lawful wage practices, prevent wage theft, ensure the City contracts only with responsible employers, protect workers through a transparent complaint process and safeguard taxpayer funds from supporting employers who violate wage and hour laws.”

The ordinance applies to contractors applying for permits or tax incentives, with denial of issuance as a possible outcome. Wage theft is defined as failure to pay minimum wage, overtime, the prevailing wage and/or pay in a timely fashion. Making unlawful deductions from wages and misclassification of employees as independent contractors are other elements.

In discussion, Marchese asked if the ordinance would affect small family businesses with relatives as employees that don’t get paid in the legal sense.

Capone did not speak. At the March 23 meeting she objected on the grounds the City of Everett can’t enforce all the regulations.

“It would only affect the businesses committing wage theft,” Ward 2 Councillor Stephanie Martins told Marchese. “We would not go business to business to audit businesses. We will not be inspecting businesses but will have the right to take action. It creates a system for employees to report wage theft and gives the City the right not to do business or limit contracts with businesses committing wage theft. It would only affect businesses committing wage theft.”

In Public Participation, State Senator Sal DiDomenico spoke in favor of passage. “I don’t usually come to City Council meetings because when I was in your position, I didn’t want state legislators telling me what to do, but wage theft is prevalent in our state; it’s my bill at the State House,” he said. “It’s prevalent in the construction and hospitality industries and leaves employees with late pay or no pay at all. We need to be on the side of residents. Workers are afraid to come forward for fear of losing their jobs, and bad actors do this because they get away with it. They will run the risk of doing this because they get away with it.”

He also said not paying employees on time or anything at all allows contractors to submit low bids for projects and Chelsea, which he also represents, has passed a wage theft prevention ordinance.

James Burrows of North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters also spoke in Public Participation. He said the ordinance would “address a very real problem faced by workers. It gives Everett the ability to pursue cases. It’s especially important for independent, nonunion workers.”

In other action, the members sent two proposals to limit or ban data centers to subcommittees or other committees for study. A proposal to “regulate data centers” was sent to the Planning Board, and one to add data centers as a prohibited use in the Docklands Innovation District in the Commercial Triangle bordered by Lower Broadway, Revere Beach Parkway and the Mystic River was sent to the Subcommittee on Legislative Affairs. Councillor-at-Large Katy Rogers explained that an outright ban is legally problematic and the ordinance needs to be refined.

A data center is a facility that enables the internet by processing data. E-mail, web searches and virtually everything the internet is used for uses them. The Science Feedback website reports there are 9,000 in the world, but more are needed and planned. “Without them, our tightly interconnected civilization would not exist,” it explains.

It also reports data centers need and use a lot of power, often drawn from local grids, including power needed for cooling. Up to one-third of the power needed may be for cooling. They can run on solar and wind power, but the inconsistency of those sources requires conventional sources of power as well.

Water needed for cooling can affect water rates for an entire community.

In Public Participation, resident John Burns said The Davis Companies’ pursuit of regulations to allow a data center shows “no consideration for the people of Everett. They say they don’t want to build one, but want access to. To me that doesn’t make sense. They’re trying to make sure they can do whatever they want at the cost of the City. We can’t allow a company like that to treat the people and the land this way. We can’t allow them to believe they can do whatever they want.”

Resident Victoria Thistle also spoke, citing the negative aspects of a data center’s drain on a community’s power grid and increases in water use rates for cooling.

Planning Board member Stephanie McColaugh and resident Alex Alcivar got into a little tiff during Public Participation. Alcivar accused opponents of the data center of being from out of town, members of the Democratic Socialists of America and being socialists and/or communists that have attacked him personally for his position, including McColaugh. “I’d be afraid to oppose this,” he warned the Councillors. “They will get external actors to smear you online. This company is acting in good faith and cleaning up a blighted site.” He also said he is starting an online news website to disseminate information.

McColaugh has spoken at previous meetings, opposing the project. Addressing the Council on April 27, she prefaced similar remarks, “Good evening, comrades.”

In later discussion, Councillor-at-Large Wayne Matewsky lamented the City was exchanging one environmentally dangerous industrial area for another, referring to former power facilities and the data center and a battery storage facility planned by The Davis Companies. He is the former Councillor for Ward 1, where the site is located. “Can’t we have something nice down there?” he asked.

Other business

In other business, the Council granted National Grid permission to install power lines to the Woodland Street playground, but tabled a National Grid request to run power lines to 313 Elm St., pending further information being provided for residents. Ward 4 Councillor Holly Garcia motioned for passage of power lines for the playground, with the caveat National Grid provide information about their working hours and staging areas and a promise to repave the street from the center line to the sidewalk. “I know residents there are happy work is finally being done there,” she said.

As is her custom, Rogers voted against the proposal for the playground, citing National Grid’s “refusal to answer for violating Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 91” to provide access to the waterfront.

The Councillors also accepted a $475,000 grant from the state Gaming Commission for construction of improvements in Everett Square. In discussion Garcia pointed out the vote was for the grant only, not on plans for improvements.

“The plans are not before us,” Council president and Councillor-at-Large Stephanie Smith confirmed. “I believe that item will come before us in the future.”

“Everett Square needs all the help it can get,” Matewsky said in urging acceptance of the grant.

Another proposal, to borrow $4 million to modernize the school system’s network infrastructure, was sent to the Subcommittee on Ways and Means for study.