PREVAILING WAGE

  • Construction worker cutting metal

PREVAILING WAGE

By Nancy Stencil

Oh my, such the times we Wisconsinites are living in! Wages are stagnant and income equality is at an all-time high in America. I can’t believe the attacks that Wisconsin Republicans snuck into the budget at the last minute…provisions that will lower wages for all of us and weaken our middle class.

The prevailing wage bill failed to pass using the normal democratic process. Weakening the prevailing wage was slipped into the budget, just days before it was signed, in order to avoid public debate and scrutiny.

Prevailing wage is a law that protects our construction workers from poverty wages and also attracts skilled workers who erect safe buildings on time and on budget.

Rolling back prevailing wage standards for local projects and federalizing the wage rate for state projects is another step in the wrong direction for Wisconsin. Why would Wisconsin Republicans want to decrease wages and further depress local economies? It doesn’t make sense, and yet this budget does just that.