Ohio cities could stop paying prevailing wage to construction workers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 24, 2017
BY LIMA NEWS

 

COLUMBUS – Local governments could opt out of paying Ohio’s prevailing wage on public construction projects under a new proposal from state Sen. Matt Huffman.

State law requires counties, cities, villages and townships to pay minimum wages and benefits, called prevailing wages, to construction workers on projects exceeding a certain cost.

…

Huffman plans to introduce a bill next week that would allow jurisdictions to decide whether they pay prevailing wages and for what projects. He said the bill has the support of the Ohio Municipal League and Ohio Association of County Commissioners.

The Affiliated Construction Trades of Ohio, which represents Ohio’s skilled trades, opposes the idea.

Executive Director Matt Szollosi said Huffman’s proposal would cause drive more work to out of state contractors who pay their employees less. Szollosi said that would drive down participation in trade apprenticeship programs, are funded with a portion of hourly pay.

“Labor costs are 23 percent of overall costs so the notion that you can elicit significant savings on the labor side by cutting wages and benefits for workers is unfounded,” Szollosi said.

(Read More)

Lawmakers put prevailing wage in crosshairs; laborers object (MO)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Sunday, February 12, 2017
By Mark Bliss ~ Southeast Missourian

 

Missouri’s prevailing wage law may not prevail much longer.

The Republican-dominated Legislature has set its sights on repealing or revising the state law.

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A pocketbook issue

Rick McGuire, business manager for Laborers Union Local 1140 in Cape Girardeau, said repealing the prevailing-wage law would leave workers with less income.
“We have members who make a living doing prevailing-wage construction work,” he said.
In the construction trades, “you don’t work every day,” he said.

McGuire said labor unions provide skills training for their members and health insurance. A portion of the hourly wages for a union worker goes to fund training, health insurance and a pension, he said.

The prevailing wage benefits union and nonunion workers, as both are paid the same rate on a public-works project, he said.

(Read More)

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Comptroller Stringer Debars Contractor that Cheated Immigrant Workers out of $1.7 million in Prevailing Wages and Benefits

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

K.S. Contracting Corporation employed a kickback scheme that preyed on at least 36 immigrant workers

 

Newsroom / Press Releases & Statements
FEBRUARY 13, 2017

(New York, NY) – New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today assessed $3.2 million in fines against K.S. Contracting Corporation and its owner, Paresh Shah, for cheating dozens of workers out of the prevailing wages and benefits they were owed under the New York State Labor Law. In addition to being assessed $3.2 million in unpaid wages, interest, and civil penalties, K.S Contracting and Mr. Shah will be barred from working on New York City and State contracts for five years. K.S. Contracting was named as one of the worst wage theft violators in New York in a report by the Center for Popular Democracy in 2015.

“With President Trump taking clear aim at immigrants across the country, we need to stand up and protect the foreign-born New Yorkers who keep our City running. Every New Yorker has rights, and my office won’t back down in defending them,” New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer said. “Contractors might think they can take advantage of immigrants, but today we’re sending a strong message: my office will fight for every worker in New York City. This is about basic fairness and accountability.”

K.S. Contracting was awarded more than $21 million in contracts by the City Departments of Design and Construction, Parks and Recreation, and Sanitation between 2007 and 2010. Projects included the Morrisania Health Center in the Bronx, the 122 Community Center in Manhattan, the Barbara S. Kleinman Men’s Residence in Brooklyn, the North Infirmary Command Building on Rikers Island, Bronx River Park, the District 15 Sanitation Garage in Brooklyn, and various City sidewalks in Queens.

The Comptroller’s Office began investigating the company after an employee filed a complaint with the office in May 2010. The multi-year investigation used subpoenas, video evidence, union records, and City agency data to uncover a kickback scheme that preyed on immigrant workers.

(Read More)

Productivity slides without prevailing wage laws Larry L. Roberts

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

BY LARRY L. ROBERTS
DECEMBER 30, 2016 12:36 PM

Recently, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dave Adkisson penned a column with his Christmas wish list of low-road pro-business issues he expects the GOP to address in the 2017 General Assembly.

While I am not surprised by Adkisson’s support for repeal of Kentucky’s prevailing-wage law, I am surprised he relied upon a flawed draft report to substantiate repeal of something as important to the economy as prevailing wage.

The report he referenced was not adopted by the Kentucky legislature’s Program Review and Investigations Committee at its Dec. 16, 2014 meeting for a variety of reasons. The report was not an accounting of construction costs; it was a back-of-the-envelope hypothetical calculation about wages – and wages only.

There was no consideration of whether or not projects were completed on time. There was no consideration of cost overruns. There was no consideration of productivity of low-wage contractors and there was no consideration of downstream maintenance cost.

(Read More)

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Prevailing wage repeal a con job | Frank Manzo IV

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Frank Manzo IV, Guest Contributor
7:46 a.m. EST December 19, 2016

The dictionary defines a “con job” as an act of “swindling or duping” to get one’s way.

Kentucky voted overwhelmingly to elect Donald Trump President, along with historic GOP majorities in both houses of the Legislature. To win, Trump and Kentucky Republicans campaigned on a lot of promises–including to “create jobs,” and “lift the wages” of working people.

Early next month, the Kentucky Legislature is expected to do just the opposite, by repealing the state’s prevailing wage law.

Prevailing Wage is the minimum wage for skilled construction work on state-funded projects. There are over 82,000 Kentuckians working in occupations affected by its state prevailing wage-carpentry, plumbing, electrical, pavers, roofers, painters and more. A repeal of prevailing wage would be a state-mandated pay cut for these workers.

Recent research by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute and renown Economist Dr. Kevin Duncan shows that prevailing wage repeal will cost 1800 of these workers their jobs, drive almost 6,000 into poverty and onto public assistance, cost another 6,000 their employer-sponsored health insurance, and will eliminate pension plans for another 10,000 workers. And because lower wages translates to lower spending by workers in their communities, prevailing wage repeal will cost Kentucky another 1100 jobs across other economic sectors.

(Read More)

Red Light Camera Company Sued Again For Prevailing Wage Violation

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Former American Traffic Solutions electrician says he was cheated out of over $75,000 in wages while working on red light cameras.

1/4/2017
Courtesy of the Newspaper.com

Another former traffic camera company employee says he has been shortchanged by American Traffic Solutions (ATS). In a new federal lawsuit, George A. Felix alleges the traffic camera vendor forced him to work more than eight hours per day without being paid overtime, and at a rate far below that required under California law.

Felix worked as an electrician for ATS in California from 2009 to 2014. He earned between $20 and $23 per hour setting up and maintaining red light cameras in various municipalities across the state. Felix does not say exactly how much money he believes he is owed, but ATS lawyers estimated the likely total to be in excess of $75,000.

“ATS failed to properly compensate [Felix] for working off-the-clock and overtime,” Richard E. Donahoo, attorney for Felix, wrote in his complaint. “[Felix] did not receive compensation for all hours worked over eight per day or forty per week at the required overtime rate.”

(Read More)

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Real Data on Prevailing Wage Show No Savings

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Posted: Aug 25, 2016 12:22 PM EDT Updated: Aug 30, 2016 6:00 AM EDT
Guest Columnist – Steve White

If you look at facts, it is clear the repeal of the state prevailing wage law will be one of the most disastrous, job-killing measures our Legislature has ever taken.

Yet it is not surprising writers Bryan Hoylman and Jason Huffman (Aug. 4) claim great savings – without any facts – because they represent the few people who will profit from West Virginia’s wage and job loss created by the repeal.

The current discussion about prevailing wage should be simple: has or has not the promised 25 percent savings from repealing the prevailing wage law been realized? During the legislative session the claim that four schools would be built for the price of three was made many times.

Repeal supporters take us through a twisted logic of hypothetical savings based on wage cuts but never show any actual savings on any real project

(Read More)

Illinois’ Construction Apprenticeship Programs Return $11 in Total Benefits for Every Dollar Invested

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

 

Published by Frank Manzo IV
AUGUST 24, 2016

A new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois finds that apprenticeship programs have significant positive social and economic impacts in Illinois.

Construction is the fastest-growing industry in Illinois. Over the next decade, the construction industry is projected to grow at twice the pace of the overall state economy, adding thousands of new jobs. All of the fastest-growing trades in Illinois’s construction industry require at least 3 years of apprenticeship training.

For many young Illinois workers, enrolling in a registered apprenticeship program is a better option than attending college or university. The annual income gain from participating in a registered apprenticeship program is $3,442 on average, greater than the average effect of having an associate’s degree and many bachelor’s degrees- including social work, English language and composition, and linguistics and foreign languages.

(Read More)

(PDF Copy of Study)

AG Healey Issues First-Ever Labor Day Report on Efforts to Combat Wage Theft, Revamps Workplace Rights Website with Innovative Features

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Report Shows $3.8 Million in Restitution and Penalties Recovered on Behalf of Workers in FY 16; New Easy-to-Navigate Website includes Searchable Public Data, Content in Various Languages

For Immediate Release – September 06, 2016
Media Contact – Emalie Gainey

BOSTON – To commemorate Labor Day and as a part of her continued efforts to protect workers and their families in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey today issued the first-ever Labor Day Report on her office’s efforts to combat and prevent wage theft. The report shows that in fiscal year 2016 alone, the office recovered $3.8 million in restitution and penalties on behalf of working people in Massachusetts.

AG Healey also announced her revamped workplace rights website with a new design and innovative features, including searchable public data and content in various languages. The new easy-to-navigate website will allow workers to better understand their rights and for employers, their obligations under state law.

“Wage theft is far too common, especially among vulnerable workers,” AG Healey said. “Our office will continue our efforts to aggressively use enforcement actions and educational outreach to help combat and prevent such theft. In Massachusetts, getting paid what you are owed is not a privilege, it is a right under the law. Everyone deserves an opportunity to participate fairly in our economy.”

(Read More)

(See Full PDF Report Here)