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3/23/2009
Even Milwaukee objects to prevailing wage costs
This should tell you something about wholly new prevailing wage mandates – and their costs to taxpayers. Even the City of Milwaukee is objecting.
Milwaukee’s proposed regulations would require prevailing wages on projects that receive more than $1 million from the city. But Gov. Jim Doyle’s state budget would require prevailing wages on all projects receiving more than $2,000 in public money.
[Alderman Michael] Murphy said he will attempt to get city elected officials to approve using Milwaukee lobbyists to get the city exempted from state prevailing wage rules in favor of city standards.
Developers on Friday told the city’s Finance and Personnel Committee prevailing wage requirements will kill Milwaukee projects by increasing costs. Prevailing Wage laws mandate that all construction workers, including the 80% who work for non-union contractors, be paid according to union bargained agreements. So (as I’ve argued before) when a school is built or when the county or city or state contracts to build a road, we taxpayers are paying inflated labor rates to get those projects done. Policy researchers debate the savings – anywhere from 5% to 38%; but whatever the savings, certainly our state budget could dearly use those bucks. And our municipal budgets. And our county budgets. And our school budgets. Prevailing wage rate laws are already a significant drain on public project spending in Wisconsin - Governor Doyle's budget proposal would also mandate prevailing wages on commercial developments that receive grants or loans from local governments.
In a commentary earlier this year, I asked
Does it make sense, especially in these tough economic times to force higher, less flexible, less market-oriented wages on Wisconsin communities? No.Steve Baas, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce Director of Government Affairs, said the association thinks any prevailing wage mandate would be bad, even if Milwaukee’s may be preferable to the state’s.
“We oppose the governor’s legislation,” he said. “I don’t want to get into an argument here over who is the tallest midget.” Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
Jo, Just another example of the real cost to the TaxPayer of having a Governor beholding politically and philosophically to the powerful Labor Unions.
Once again, the Tax Payer is stuck with the Bill. GLS
Glenn L Schilling (Tue Mar 24 12:09:56 2009)
Glenn, under our current moneyed political system our choices are to have politicians beholden to either the right wing or the left wing. Never to the people of the state. That's the way it is. If you don't like it, change it. Public funding of campaigns will balance their allegiance.
Jack Lohman (Wed Mar 25 09:47:18 2009)
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