Minnesota Legislative Session Priorities
The time to make long-needed reforms is here.
2012 is a year that cannot be squandered as more Minnesota construction workers are left facing one of the worst industry downturns in history. With more than 50,000 Minnesota construction jobs lost in the last five years, the construction industry can not wait for indecisiveness or a lack of political willpower. Minnesota’s economic renewal and thousands of jobs are on the line.
Prevailing Wage Reform
Prevailing wage increases taxpayer-funded construction costs by 10 percent without any additional return on investment.
• Prevailing wage unjustly exists almost exclusively for the construction industry, as there are no such wage requirements
for any other industry.
• Job growth suffers because of these extra construction costs
• Minnesota’s prevailing wage law dictates a “modal” calculation, guarantying that the highest union wage will inflate costs.
• The average free market competitive construction wage in Minnesota is over $20 per hour. These are attractive wages and are higher than most in the state.
• Using the Federal Davis-Bacon rates would cut duplication.
Stop Public Wage Kickbacks
A growing trend in construction is the collection of employee wages
on an hourly basis to provide kickbacks to employers.
• This process unfairly decreases the take-home pay of employees and pads the wallets of contractors.
• Because these funds are commingled from private and public work, it erodes all wages across the industry.
• This means a DNR project could essentially end up subsidizing a McDonald’s restaurant.
• Contractors on state-funded work should be absolutely prohibited from accepting these kickbacks on public work, and
the collection of worker payments should also be prohibited on public jobs.
Expanding Apprenticeship
All companies and workers should have access to apprenticeship
training. Minnesota’s program raises barriers through wage rules.
• Less than 7% of the Minnesota construction workforce is enrolled in state apprenticeship.
• Although more than 70% of construction workers are not affiliated with a union, over 90% of state-approved apprentices are in union-sponsored programs.
• Our state program requires prevailing wage rates to be paid on both public and private work to enrolled apprentices.
• Allowing apprentices to be paid at a percentage of the average journeyman’s wage for each company would allow more workers to access apprenticeship, and would mimic federal standards.
GET INTO POLITICS, OR GET OUT OF BUSINESS!
If you have any questions, please call or email Phil Raines.