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Prevailing Wage Exemption Goes Down In House Committee

Josh James
/
WUKY

Union workers sat wall to wall in a House committee chamber this morning in opposition to Senate-approved legislation exempting educational facilities construction from prevailing wage law - where they once again found a receptive audience.

It's become a ritual of sorts for Mark Isaacs with the Laborers' Union Local 189, filing into a committee room with his fellow orange-shirted LiUNA! coworkers as lawmakers launch into a familiar debate.

"You know, every year it seems to come up. They just try to drive down the cost of construction by targeting the laborers out in the field rather than looking at total costs," he said.

Each year opponents of the legislation argue the generally higher pay guaranteed by the government on projects costing $250,000 or more coincides with better quality construction, more skilled workers, and thriving apprenticeship programs. But supporters see an opportunity to cut costs and funnel the savings into new schools by doing away with what they consider artificially inflated wages.

"An employee says hey I'm willing to take my skills and trade an hour of my time for $20, why is the government getting in the way of that agreement between a worker and an employer?" Republican Rep. Adam Koenig asked.

Senate Bill 9 fared no better than previous efforts, going down mostly along party lines. Sponsor Wil Schroder remains optimistic, however, noting retirements and other changes on the House Labor & Industry Committee in future sessions could yield a different result.

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