| Laborers' PLAN Political and Legislative Action Network |
Private prison construction undermines prevailing wage law
Prison construction has always been subject to the prevailing wage law. However, a bill recently introduced in the state Assembly threatens to undermine state prevailing wage law.
AB 634, sponsored by Representative Scott Walker of Wauwatosa, would allow private companies to build prison facilities and then allow the State Department of Corrections to contract with that private company to house state inmates.
Despite the fact that the facility would house state inmates and that the agreement would be with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, the work involved in building the facility would be considered private and escape the wage and hour standards of the state prevailing wage law.
Currently, Wisconsin has a prevailing wage law that applies to all qualifying public works projects in this state.
Every year, the Department of Workforce Development conducts a comprehensive survey of all contractors in the state in order to determine wages that ÒprevailÓ in the private sector. It then uses that data to issue local wage determinations on public works projects as projects are proposed.
One of the objectives of the prevailing wage law is to prevent unscrupulous contractors from bidding and winning work based on pay scales that undermine area standards.
By allowing private firms to construct a prison and house state inmates, AB 634 circumvents Wisconsin Prevailing Wage Law, allowing public money to undermine family supporting public construction jobs - inviting the very sort of unscrupulous activity that the prevailing wage law was designed to prevent.
Already companies from Oklahoma, Florida and Tennessee have expressed interest in building and/or operating facilities in Wisconsin.
Background on Prevailing Wage Laws In 1931, laws were enacted both in Washington and in Wisconsin to guarantee fair competition on federal and state construction projects. For over 65 years, these laws have been providing stability to an otherwise volatile construction industry. More importantly for Wisconsin workers, consumers and taxpayers, these laws have been protecting the economic vitality of entire communities from unscrupulous contractors who would undermine the public works process by slashing wages in order to win work. Prevailing wage laws prevent cut-throat competition by establishing wage rates on public works projects that must be paid at minimum. By basing these wage rates on real wages, being earned by real workers, who are working real work in the private sector -- these laws ensure that the contractors who are bidding and ultimately winning public work are competing based on their knowledge, skill, efficiency and experience, and not on how little they are paying their workers. |
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