By Armand E. Sabitoni
Posted Apr 10, 2018 at 5:49 PM
There is no greater investment than ensuring our children have the foundation built for future success. As Rhode Island’s school buildings get older and unhealthier each year, the time is now to invest in new school infrastructure. Building new schools and making necessary technology updates are vital to Rhode Island’s economic recovery and also stimulate job growth.
Construction workers are the backbone of a strong economy and play a critical role in school infrastructure investment. Skilled men and women go to work each day, in sometimes difficult conditions to put food on the table for their families. Tirelessly, they pour blood and sweat safely and efficiently building our roads, bridges, schools, water and energy systems.
Unfortunately, on her March 30 Commentary piece (“Fix more R.I. schools for less money”), Rhode Island House Minority Leader, Patricia Morgan, sadly insinuates that all construction workers are overpaid and should take a pay cut to build our schools.
Morgan proposes that the state exempt school construction from the state’s prevailing wage law, falsely thinking this will save money. Some elected officials have tried this charade in other states, attacking the livelihood of blue-collar workers they claim to represent.
Prevailing wage laws are bipartisan and have Republican roots back to 1931, when Sen. James Davis, R-Pa., and Rep. Robert L. Bacon, R-N.Y., helped to pass the Davis-Bacon Act federally and most states passed local prevailing wage laws quickly thereafter. Nationally, Republicans and Democrats, consistently support prevailing wage laws as necessary to protect family-supporting, blue-collar construction jobs.
Prevailing wage laws guarantee a minimum floor for wages, leveling the playing field for construction contractors bidding public work. Data based on what skilled workers earn in a local area are used to set the prevailing wage rate.
All construction workers, union and non-union, are paid a set wage and benefit rate determined by market surveys for work performed in their classification. These laws protect the local skilled workforce in Rhode Island from out-of-state contractors who might otherwise attempt to underbid their competition with low-wage out-of-state workers. Strong prevailing wage laws generate millions in local economic spending activity.