Protesters from the Northern California Carpenters Association (NCCA) local Union 46 were passing out flyers at Sacramento State describing a supposed government investigation against Sundt Construction.

The protesters have been seen in front of the school on J Street and recently in front of the residential halls with orange flyers and a statue of the Grim Reaper. They’re claiming their rights were violated because of unequal pay rates, hourly wages and improper working conditions.

The flyers read “California State University East Bay & Sundt Construction are under investigation by the government for violating workers rights!”

Michael Uhlenkamp Director of Public affairs for California State Universities said that the protest has nothing to do with East Bay but the workers are trying to drag them into it. He said since it is a CSU the carpenters did work on, the protesters have visited other campuses in California like Sacramento State and Fresno State.

“This is an issue that the carpenters Union has with Sundt, they are just trying to generate publicity with their issue,” Uhlenkamp said.

There is no federal investigation going on right now Uhlenkamp said and that it is really just a joke. He also said he was unsure as to what exactly Sundt had done to violate the workers’ rights.

Scott Littlehale, spokesperson for the Union said the protest the workers were having was about wages.

“Carpenters are protesting the fact that CSUEB is doing business with a contracting firm, [Sundt], that has used subcontractors who drive down wage and benefit standards, commonly known as ‘area standards,’ for Northern California carpenters.”

Littlehale said the Union needs proper training through an apprenticeship program which was not provided and the training makes the difference between a job and an actual career.

According to the Apprenticeship website, those who complete the registered training are able to make up to $240,000 more than those who do not.

Employee Owner of Sundt Construction Teddi Fowler said she had no idea about any of the protest that is happening around the campuses.

“We are not aware of any flyers at Sacramento State and have not been notified of any investigation presently underway,” said Fowler.

Fowler said that they are not currently working on construction for any of the CSUs and that they work with Unions and open shop subcontractors depending on their client’s preferences.