State authorities - Coakley’s office among them - are trying to crack down on illegal labor practices in construction and other industries. In February, a new human trafficking law will take effect that calls for up to 20 years in prison for people found guilty of importing workers into the state for illegal purposes.
A Victory Outreach pastor in Philadelphia, Joseph Bishop, said his church’s laborers were interviewed by Massachusetts investigators Wednesday about their working conditions at the Marriott, which is among the city’s largest luxury hotels, with 1,100 rooms.
Bishop did not know how much the laborers were being paid but said the church has sent multiple groups of workers from its shelter in Philadelphia to the Boston Marriott.
Based near San Diego, Victory Outreach is an evangelical church with more than 700 churches and centers in the United States and abroad. On its website, the church describes itself as a Christian organization “called to the task of evangelizing and discipling the hurting people of the world,’’ according to its website, and it also provides shelter, rehabilitation services, and employment opportunities to members struggling with substance abuse, poverty, and other issues.
Bishop said Victory Outreach has 20- to 30-year relationships with construction firms to provide work for church members. He believes the firm using its church members at the Boston Marriott is Installation Plus of Corona, Calif., where Victory Outreach also has a branch. His church is not paid for supplying workers, Bishop said.
Installation Plus is a subcontractor handling the removal and installation of furniture at the Marriott. Its owner, George Herrera, referred questions to the main contractor on the Boston job - Baystate Services Inc. of Woburn. That firm’s chief executive, Jeff Snyder, acknowledged that Victory Outreach workers were being employed on the site, but he said he did not know anything about their pay or working conditions.
“I’m not sure how they are being compensated,’’ Snyder said. He said he has not talked to Installation Plus about the workers.
