OpEd Sherry Buchanon
4/9/18
Once again, Republicans are trying to repeal Missouri’s prevailing wage. This law protects standards for decent wages, guarantees a fair bidding process, and demands safety and quality for public projects. The Kansas City Star recently called repeal efforts “the political lunacy of advocating for middle-class wage cuts during an era of stagnation and rising inequality.”
Prevailing wage protections started in 1931 when the Davis-Bacon Act was signed by Republican President Herbert Hoover. The act came about after two congressmen teamed up to protect their states from contractors who were bringing in low-paid labor from Alabama to do work on taxpayer-funded projects. Not only did the congressmen object to displacing local labor, they also recognized that these migrant workers would not be long-term taxpayers, consumers and constituents. They recognized that paying the lowest wages was not good overall economics.
Missouri’s prevailing wage law requires workers, union or nonunion, to be paid set wages on taxpayer-funded projects such as schools, jails and bridges. Wage rates are determined county-by-county from voluntary annual wage reports submitted by contractors who work in those counties. Those who pay union rates and those who do not are included in the average. So essentially, the “prevailing wage” in each county is the local going rate for various types of labor.
Because trade unions have successfully bargained for higher compensation, and because union-skilled labor is preferred by many local private and public builders, local wages are higher than they might otherwise be.
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I want public policy that protects workers’ ability to make living wages so they can pay taxes and be vigorous consumers, helping our businesses and economy to prosper in ways that are good for everyone, not just the rich. I want public policy that supports a fair bidding process for contractors and rewards contractors willing to do quality work. I want public policy that guarantees safe construction of schools, roads, county jails and bridges. I want policy that supports spending local taxes to pay local workers who, in turn, spend locally.