The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance found the survey method used to calculate prevailing wage led to wages that: "do not reflect varying county construction wages or regional labor markets; are more "costly" in low-wage, low-income counties, particularly those in northern Wisconsin; can fluctuate widely and unpredictably from year to year, rather than change slowly and consistently as market wages typically do; can require contractors to pay un-skilled workers more than skilled workers in some situations; and may cost state and local government hundreds of millions of dollars in excess costs."
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A report by Anderson Economic Group, LLC found that an estimated $2.9 billion in education construction expenditures are subject to Illinois prevailing wage law and in the absence of the state's prevailing wage law, Illinois could have saved $158 million on average each of the past ten years. With an additional cost of $158 million per year due to prevailing wage laws, Illinois could have saved $1.6 billion dollars on school construction from 2002 to 2012.
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A study by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group (AEG) found that Michigan’s prevailing wage law is costing taxpayers and draining millions of dollars per year from the state’s public universities, community colleges and school districts by driving up the costs of construction projects. The study found the prevailing wage requirement increases construction costs by approximately $224 million annually. Additionally, the study found that with no additional taxpayer funding, more than 315 additionally elementary buildings could have been built in the previous decade with the money lost because of the state’s prevailing wage requirement.
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The study found the New York system of using collective bargaining agreements to establish wage rates is likely invalid given that union membership is presently lower than 30 percent in most localities. In fact, unions now represent only 24 percent of the state's construction workforce, yet New York still relies on union collective bargaining agreements when establishing prevailing wage rates. Near the turn of the last century, New York established wage standards to ensure construction workers were receiving a normal, or "prevailing," private-sector wage and benefits on public construction work.
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An April 6, 2011 report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), titled, "Davis-Bacon Act: Methodological Changes Needed to Improve Wage Survey," highlighted serious flaws in how wages are determined under the Davis-Bacon Act, and recommended steps for the Department of Labor (DOL) to take to remedy some of the issues. GAO examined how DOL has addressed previous concerns from stakeholders, and also looked at new issues that need to be resolved.
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| Date: |
Thursday, January 19, 2017
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Watch Now |
| Time: |
11:00 a.m. (ET) / 10:00 a.m. (CT) / 9:00 a.m. (MT) / 8:00 a.m. (PT)
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| Length: |
30 minutes |
| Fee: |
Free |
| Speaker: |
John Wiegand, BIM360 Integration Consultant, Autodesk
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| Category: |
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PRESENTED BY ABC's STRATEGIC PARTNER - AUTODESK
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION
Understand the myths and truths of lean construction by attending this informative webcast. See how your firm can successfully commit to and implement lean practices for improved project performance.
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A study published in the Cato Journal, Vol. 30, No.1, concludes the purpose of prevailing wage laws are to limit competition and provide significant benefits to labor unions. These policies come at the expense of taxpayers that are forced to pay more than otherwise necessary for projects that require prevailing wage mandates. George Leef, Director of Research at the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, concludes that no societal benefits result from union favoritism.
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) expanded federal Davis-Bacon requirements to 40 additional federal programs, according to a Feb. 2010 study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Although the impacts of these requirements vary among agencies (primarily because many are not directly involved in construction activities), several--including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)* –report that Davis-Bacon has had a negative impact on ARRA-related program administration and goals.
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The Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia on Feb. 16, 2009, released a study that concludes West Virginia's average state prevailing wage rate is at least 49 percent, and as high as 74 percent (using adjusted figures), above West Virginia's true market prevailing wage in the construction industry. The study also found that as many as 1,500 more jobs could be created if West Virginia's prevailing wage law were repealed or reformed to reflect actual market wages.
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In a March 2000 report, the General Accountability Office (GAO) estimates the federal government could save more than $4 billion in discretionary spending outlays over a five year period by repealing the Davis-Bacon Act.
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The Beacon Hill Institute (BHI) at Suffolk University in Boston, Mass., found that wages on federally funded construction projects under the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) are grossly inflated. The February 2008 study compared the methods used by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the DOL’s Employment Standards Administration’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to determine the prevailing wage for workers employed on federally funded construction projects.
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A study conducted by the Minnesota Taxpayers Association (MTA) found the state's method for calculating prevailing wage rates on public construction increased project costs between 7 percent and 10 percent. Minnesota and California use a “modal” calculation, in which the rate that is most frequently reported in a survey is designated as the “prevailing” wage.
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A study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy estimates that Michigan's prevailing wage law, which requires union wages to be paid on state construction projects, costs state taxpayers about $250 million per year. The main effect of this extra cost is to boost the wages of construction workers, most of whom earn compensation well above the average for Michigan residents, according to the study. Michigan's prevailing wage law also appears to decrease the number of construction jobs in the state.
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| Date: |
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
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Watch Now |
| Time: |
2:00 p.m. (ET) / 1:00 p.m. (CT) / 12:00 p.m. (MT) / 11:00 a.m. (PT)
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| Length: |
60 minutes |
| Fee: |
Free |
| Speaker: |
Mikael Reckley, Field Marketing Manager, Procore
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| Category: |
Training and Education |
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PRESENTED BY ABC's NATIONAL EVENT SPONSOR - PROCORE
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION
Will your company be able to stay in the game for the long haul? As any tech savvy company will tell you, if you are not an early adopter, you are already behind. Whether it is winning more bids, attracting or retaining new talent, or leveraging tech to enhance business processes, staying ahead of the competition now requires extreme mobility - in your processes and your apps.
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An August 2003 study from the California Institute for County Government at California State University, Sacramento shows that federal commercial prevailing wage rates and state prevailing wage rates in California are on average 36 percent to 55 percent higher than market wages.
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