Minnesota House Committee Votes To Cut Construction Worker Pay

This past Tuesday, the Minnesota House Commerce Committee passed HF 1476, a bill that would make sweeping changes to prevailing wage rules and would drive down wages for construction workers, end overtime pay after 8 hours of work and hurt working families. The vote was close. Please send a thank you to the Representatives who voted against the bill. 

The fight to stop this harmful legislation is not over yet. It is now being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee. At the bottom of this post is a letter that the Laborers District Council is sending to legislators. But we need all of our members to take action to stop it.  Send a message to your representative and members of the committee, urging that the attack on prevailing wages be stopped.

Don't be fooled by corporate-backed groups that are supporting these efforts. Workers in states that have repealed their prevailing wage rates have seen a more than 16% decline in their compensation and the average value of benefits has decreased by 53%.

Send a message to your representatives now and urge that the committee vote no on HF 1476.

Thank you for making a difference. 

In a letter sent to legislators, the Laborers District Council wrote:

The research is clear: protecting workers paychecks with strong prevailing wage laws may reduce tax money that goes toward out of state contractors corporate profits, but it does not increase costs for local community taxpayers.
 
A study of school construction costs in Great Plains states showed that strong prevailing wage laws do not raise construction costs but weakening or repealing such laws hurt taxpayers and workers. After Kansas' prevailing wage law was repealed, wages fell 11 percent, training programs declined 38 percent, job site injuries rose 19 percent and employer contributions to pensions fell 17 percent, according to the study prepared for the Kansas Senate.
 
Highway construction costs are actually higher when workers are paid less (as HF 1476 would cause), according to an analysis of Federal Highway Administration data by the Construction Labor Research Council. The study showed that the cost to build a mile of highway in high-wage states compared with low wage states (averaging 40% less is wages) was, on average, $123,057 per mile less in "high wage" states due to the workers higher skills and productivity. 
 
Speaking of highway construction, a recent review of DOT expenditures by Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota revealed a strong correlation between a strong prevailing wage state like Minnesota where 92% of the public investments went to local Minnesota contractors whereas in the South Dakota and North Dakota - both non-prevailing wage states - 46% to 55% of their public dollars went to out of state contractors and left the state. 
 
Strong prevailing wage rules are a tried-and-true way to keep public construction dollars in the community, protect paychecks, defend taxpayers, create good jobs and stronger communities.  The last thing our economy needs is a pay-cut for Minnesota's families or policies that destroy good jobs, while pouring more taxpayer money into out of state contractors corporate coffers.
 
For the sake of our State and the families of the tens of thousands of building trades members and their partner local signatory contractors who live and work here, please vote no on HF1476.