Sep 1, 2019
The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City in 1882. The highlight of the day included a parade by thousands of workers from city hall to Union Station. But with the repeal of prevailing wage, the parade is passing most West Virginians by this holiday weekend.
Prevailing wage is the local “going rate” for construction work. Essentially, it is a market-based minimum wage with benefits for local construction workers.
Since 1931, both under Republican and Democratic control, Congress has made a federal prevailing wage the law of the land. Prevailing wage receives strong bipartisan support because it creates a level playing field for contractors by ensuring that public expenditures reflected local market standards for compensation and craftsmanship.
But leaders in the West Virginia Legislature decided to march to the beat of a different drum by tossing out the going rate altogether.
Many argued the state could further stretch its tax dollars by building five new schools for the price of three. However, a recently released study finds that West Virginia taxpayers saved absolutely nothing from prevailing wage repeal.
Conducted by the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Midwest Economic Policy Institute, the study determines that not only has the state failed to save any money, it backs up a previous report by the West Virginia School Building Authority (SBA).