Say yes to more prevailing wage: Requiring higher pay for laborers in all public works is good for New York’s middle class (NY)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By KEVIN DUNCAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
MAR 20, 2019

Over a century ago, New York State established its first prevailing wage law. It was based on the common-sense principle that workers who build something for the public good be paid a fair wage for their work. It’s a deal that’s paid off for New York and for countless families who’ve been lifted into the middle class through hard work and sweat equity.

Prevailing wage laws require construction workers who do major jobs for state or local government to be paid at rates that are set through negotiations between businesses and laborers.

The problem today is that more and more big projects are being funded as public-private partnerships, blurring the line of what’s considered “public work.” Construction projects are being built throughout the state, subsidized with public funds, that are able to evade requirements to pay a decent wage to their workers.

Take the Trump Ferry Point Golf Course in the Bronx. New York City taxpayers spent over $120 million to build a golf course on the site. Trump was then selected to operate the course, and as part of that deal, built a $10 million clubhouse.

Because this part of the project was not clearly defined as “public work,” the billionaire developer was able to do so without wage requirements, keeping the extra profit for himself.

That’s why we need legislation to clearly define public work – and a bill currently under consideration in the state Legislature does just that. Supportive language was just included in one-house budget resolutions, and the governor has signaled his support as well.

A clear definition of public work will create a bright line test so there’s no more ambiguity. Under the proposed law, a project will be considered public work if: the construction is paid for in whole or in part with public funds, or the construction is performed in contemplation of a public entity leasing a portion of the space in the resulting development.

This would relieve the state of the great administrative burden of trying to determine whether or not various projects are public work. Furthermore, it would grant the Department of Labor additional enforcement abilities to better ensure that public funds are used appropriately.

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Officials, developers: wage dispute due to “miscommunication” (CT)

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By Jordan Grice
Updated 4:06 pm EST, Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Bridgeport officials and developers of the new concert amphitheater are saying wage disputes over the project were due to miscommunication.

“Although it was never specified, the Harbor Yard Amphitheater, HYA, renovation was always intended to be a prevailing wage project,” said developer Howard Saffan in an email to Hearst Connecticut Media.

Tensions among construction workers building the amphitheater – the closed minor league baseball park – have apparently subsided, following confirmation that construction of the venue will, now, adhere to state law.

The Department of Labor notified the city’s economic development department this month that the project violated prevailing wage laws.

The prevailing wage statute requires contractors involved in big-ticket construction or renovations involving public funding use an assigned wage rate and DOL certified payroll for their workers.

A letter from state labor officials claimed that the contracting agency of the project – which according to the project contract is Saffan-failed to request a prevailing wage pay rate schedule or include it in the bid specifications.

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Somerville community groups demand union labor during Clarendon Hill construction (MA)

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Posted Apr 18, 2018 at 2:13 PM

A coalition of community groups and unions are campaigning to ensure that a for-profit developer pays prevailing wages and uses union labor on a public-private partnership to rebuild the public housing at Clarendon Hills.

The for-profit developer, Redgate, along with non-profit developers Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and Somerville Community Corporation (SCC),are planning to renovate Clarendon Hill Apartments in Somerville and build market rate units to pay for it.

Public-private partnerships like this are part of a trend in to finance the redevelopment of existing public housing. The developers seek to minimize costs by getting a pass on the state’s prevailing wage law.

“We agree that the residents of Clarendon Hill should reside in the best housing possible, and that high quality affordable housing in Somerville should be accessible to all,” said Jaril Gauthier, a sheetmetal worker and Somerville resident. “However, we are opposed to the notion of betraying one important mission for another, especially when a private interest stands to make tens of millions of dollars off this so-called public-private “partnership.”

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Direct Federal Spending High on Industry’s Infrastructure List

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Industry officials, lawmakers also agree on need for Highway Trust Fund fix.

October 14, 2017
Tom Ichniowski

As the construction and transportation industries continue to wait for more specifics from the White House about President Trump’s still-unreleased infrastructure investment plan, some top officials are making clear that they want direct federal funds to be a keystone of the proposal, though acknowledging that public-private partnerships can be helpful in some cases.

Lawmakers and witnesses at a House highways and transit subcommittee hearing on Oct. 11 also said they want the plan to include a remedy for the Highway Trust Fund, which will face another shortfall in 2020 unless it gets a revenue infusion.

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the panel has been working closely with administration officials on “principles” for the infrastructure plan “And we hope to see that soon coming out of the White House,” Shuster added..

The wait for the plan has been long. There has been little action in the House, too, said Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.), the transportation committee’s top Democrat.

He noted that it has been more than nine months since the committee held its first 2017 infrastructure hearing, on Feb. 1 and House lawmakers have only rolled out a few legislative proposals.

DeFazio said that “all we’re doing around here is just talking, while the country crumbles.” He added, “I mean, seriously, let’s get to work.”

DeFazio also called for a strong federal role. He observed that more than 20 states in recent years “have stepped up” by raising revenue, mainly through increases in their own gasoline taxes. But DeFazio said those additional dollars are not enough. “They need a federal partner,” he said.

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Collaborative Development: The Benefits of Public-Private Partnership

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A new ILEPI Policy Brief, released this morning, investigates the pros and cons of public-private partnerships in the construction industry.

The report, Collaborative Development: The Pros and Cons of P3s on Construction Projects (PDF), finds that public-private partnerships (P3s)- such as the proposed Illiana Expressway– offer the potential for significant cost savings for the public sector. P3s allow governments to increase internal investment, capitalize on the efficiencies and innovations of private companies, and build infrastructure slightly less expensively and slightly more quickly. For the private sector, P3s provide stable assets (infrastructure facilities) with predictable long-term returns from user fees for portfolio diversification. P3s also allow private entities, backed by the government, to borrow cheaply.

The Policy Brief utilizes case studies to demonstrate how P3s may be mutually beneficial and discusses the expected positive benefits of three potential P3 projects in the Midwest.

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How will a Purple-Line public-private partnership work?

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A P3 is a partnership between a government agency (in this case, the Maryland Transit Administration) and a private firm (called a “concessionaire”) to build and operate an infrastructure project. Many P3s are toll roads, like the new Beltway HOT lanes in Northern Virginia. But transit P3 projects are fairly new to the United States. Currently, the only example in the nation is in Denver, which is using one to build almost 70 miles of rail projects.

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