FRANKFORT – Before an over flow crowd, the Kentucky House of Representatives’ Labor & Industry Committee soundly rejected House Bill 419 today, a measure that would have excluded all educational buildings and facilities from Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage law. The Committee voted overwhelmingly 14 – 1 against the measure. Two legislators present voted to ‘pass.’ After the Bill’s sponsor, House Republican Minority Leader, Jeff Hover, and co-sponsor, Representative Jim DeCesare (Republican - Bowling Green) did not show up for the hearing, the Committee heard testimony from Peter Philips, Professor of Economics at the University of Utah, whose testimony was described by one legislator as “powerful.” Philips, who received his MA and Ph.D. from Stanford University, is one of the nation’s leading experts on the construction labor market. In preparation for his testimony before the committee, Philips undertook the largest, most comprehensive study ever conducted in Kentucky on the economic impacts of Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage Law on construction costs. The study was commissioned by the Kentucky State Building & Construction Trades Council. Specifically, Philips examined 391 school construction projects in Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan and concluded that there is no cost savings from repealing Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage law. Phillips testified that labor costs are 20% to 21% of total costs on Kentucky public construction projects. For critics who claim that repealing prevailing wages would result in a savings of 10% on total construction costs, Philips said, “That is simply not realistic. They would have to cut current wages of all construction workers on public projects – union and non-union alike - by 50% and then hope worker productivity and all other cost variables remained the same.” Philips pointed out to members of the committee that if prevailing wages were repealed other costs to taxpayers would rise as more construction workers were forced into poverty and sought public assistance. In addition, local and state tax revenues would fall and there would be negative economic impacts on local communities as those workers whose wages were dramatically cut realized a corresponding loss in their purchasing power. Additional research-based findings by Dr. Philips included: - States with prevailing wage laws have a better educated, more productive workforce. - Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage Law provides an incentive for safer, more experienced workforce. - Repealing Kentucky’s prevailing Wage Law will result in lower wages, lower benefits, less training and reduce productivity across all of Kentucky’s construction industry. - Repealing Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage Law will devastate apprenticeship training programs in Kentucky.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 02:46:40 +0000
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