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Pennsylvania Saves Prevailing Wage

February 21, 2012

Republican legislation aimed at weakening Pennsylvania’s prevailing wage law hit a major bump in the road February 16 after supporters failed to garner enough support from fellow party members in the state house.

Despite their 112-91 majority in the state House of Representatives, Republican leaders couldn’t bring the bill – which would have squeezed construction workers’ paychecks – to the floor after more than a dozen pro-worker GOP representatives broke with their party on the issue.

Prevailing wage laws mandate minimum wage and benefit levels on all government-funded construction projects above a certain cost threshold. Currently it is $25,000, which the GOP wanted to jack up to $185,000.

Weakening the prevailing wage law would have had a negative impact on not only construction workers’ wallets, but on the quality of the projects, says Allentown, Local 375 Business Manager Brett Helfrich:

We do more than 90 percent of prevailing wage work in the area, and this bill would have opened the floodgate to cheap nonunion contractors, whose workers lack the training and experience our folks do. We would see fewer projects done on time and more accidents, creating a race to the bottom.

Data from the Keystone Research Center, a pro-worker think tank, backs him up. In a report on the effects of prevailing wage that was released last year, the center found.

Consistent with the original rationale for establishing prevailing wage laws, a rigorous body of economic research shows that efforts to repeal these laws leads to:

 - less work force training;

 - a younger, less educated and less experienced work force;

 - higher injury rates;

 - lower wages; and

- lower health and pension coverage.

 Research also reveals that prevailing wage laws do not raise costs, suggesting that the positive effect of higher wages on productivity compensates for higher labor costs.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Bloom, says he has not given up on efforts to try move the legislation later this session.