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| The Michigan Congress is set to debate a long- standing wage law. Image: Shutterstock |
Michigan Republicans are bringing forward six proposals to
end the state’s 50-year-old wage laws during this latest lawmaking session,
despite Republican Governor Rick Snyder’s insistence that he doesn’t want to deal
with this sort of legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive,
announced that he and two other senators will introduce a three-bill package on
Tuesday that would repeal the current law requiring union-scale wages for
government and school building projects.
In
the House, Ottawa County Representative Amanda Price’s House Bill 4001 would
repeal the Michigan Prevailing Wage Act of 1965. Nesbitt’s House Bill 4002 would
apply technical adjustments to the law, and Jacobsen’s House Bill 4003 would
eliminate the wage mandate for school construction projects.
Similar
bills are likely to be brought before the Senate as well.
“It simply does not make sense that state government requires taxpayer-funded building
projects [to] cost more than other construction,” said
Meekhof.
Republicans hope to lower the cost of these types of
construction and inject those funds into other education- and road-related
projects.
Union supporters—including some Republicans—have criticized
the move, arguing that the law is necessary to ensure these building projects
get quality workers who are paid fairly.
Michigan State AFL-CIO President Karla Swift said the wage
law protects workers “from unscrupulous contractors” and that higher wages lead
to a boost in productivity and ultimately lower construction costs. “With paychecks stagnant or falling for too
many families, the last thing Michigan politicians should be doing is pushing
legislation that would further cut wages,” she
added.
However, Governor Snyder has implied that he has more
interest in dealing with a road funding deal than the disputed wage issue. House
Minority Leader Tim Greimel said he does not expect the wage legislation to
end up on Snyder’s desk.
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