The Wall Street Journal makes a cogent point when it examines the wreckage caused by the outdated Davis-Bacon laws from 1931 to mandate inflated wages on public works jobs. It’d be a great way to Save $40 Billion. Same thing for sops to unions with pricey Project Labor Agreements. Just these two cost saving measures would go a long ways toward decreasing government spending in Washington and in Contra Costa.
“The draft stimulus bill we’ve seen explicitly mentions that Davis-Bacon rules must apply. But Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) says he’ll offer an amendment on the Senate floor to suspend those rules for stimulus spending. This would seem to be exactly the kind of liberation from “worn out dogmas” that Mr. Obama called for yesterday. If he wants to send an early message that this really is a new era — and save taxpayers a bundle too — the new President need merely put in a good word for Mr. DeMint’s effort.”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Though in some areas of the country wages set under DBA rules require high rates based on collective bargaining agreements, some do not. Take Florida for instance; wages on highway projects have not been updated since 1993 and reflect open shops rates which prevail in all areas of the state. Heavy, building, and residential rates are mixed. One could reasonably argue that the cost could be substantial in administering the provisions of the act even though the payments required by contractors to employees would not.
Mark Wright
Tallahassee, Florida
~ EDITOR ADDS — You are correct, Mark. One of my first jobs was to keep records, reconcile, and produce reports to document Davis Bacon compliance to HUD for a small construction company working with federal rehab housing loan dollars.
To The Editor:
Why get 50 miles of freeway when you can get 100 miles?
The Davis-Bacon Act, passed by Congress in 1931, requires the payment of extra high wages on federal construction projects (such as highways and post offices).
The original purpose of the Davis-Bacon Act was to mandate higher wages for construction workers, who in the 1930’s were mostly white. The higher Davis-Bacon wages precluded non-white construction workers from underbidding the higher-priced white workers.
” . . . Davis-Bacon requires a minimum wage for brickmasons of $49.67 an hour, though the more common wage for that work is $25.50″ (Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2008).
To get maximal results from a federal stimulus package, Congress should repeal the Davis-Bacon Act.
Richard S. Colman
Orinda, CA
Feb. 5, 2009