DGS49
Diamond Member
The Davis-Bacon Act, the first of the "prevailing wage" laws that are prominent in most of the States now, was a Depression-era law that was intended to legally discriminate against African-American construction workers.
Then as now, individual Congressmen would seek to "bring home the bacon," by getting legislation passed that called for federal construction projects within their congressional districts. But a problem arose. Some construction companies originating in the Southern states would bring busloads of Negro construction workers up north, bid these federal construction projects at prices lower than the locals were willing to go (Negroes would work for less), and "take the work away from" the local construction workers. People were pissed, and complained to their congresspeople.
So the Davis Bacon Act was passed. It said that on all Federal construction projects, the contractors were required to pay, as a minimum, the prevailing wages in the locality, when bidding on the projects. Thus, there was no advantage to bringing in cheaper workers from outside, because every contractor bidding the job was required to pay the same wages.
But what is the "prevailing wage"?
The job of ascertaining the "prevailing wage" went to the Department of Labor. And since it was controlled by Democrats in the Roosevelt administration, they quickly acquiesced to the Union stooges and decided that, by definition, the "prevailing wage" was going to be the wages paid to construction workers under the local union contracts.
Now this flies in the face of the dictionary definition of "prevailing." In some locations, only 10% of the local construction workers were "organized," and yet in those locations the "prevailing wage" was still deemed to be the union rate(s). So the inherent disadvantage of high union wages was removed from federal construction work, and more efficient, non-union contractors were forced to gross up their bid prices to accommodate the union rates.
The taxpayers were paying - and continue to pay - anywhere from 15-25% MORE THAN NECESSARY ON ALL FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, depending on whose estimates you believe. Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and many, many other states have legislation that parrots the requirements of the Federal Davis Bacon Act, and thus construction costs on government building projects are similarly inflated in those states.
Since government construction dollars are paid, ultimately, by the taxpayers, this means that YOU are paying billions of dollars too much for government construction projects around the country, because of a law that was based purely on racism, and is perpetuated purely as a sop to Big Unions.
As an interesting footnote to this phenomenon, the official position of the AFL-CIO on this matter is that Davis Bacon and other "prevailing wage" laws cost the taxpayers NOTHING, because union construction workers go through apprenticeships, training, and whatnot, and are more efficient than non-union construction workers, so that it actually doesn't cost any more to mandate "prevailing wages" than otherwise.
But of course, they would scream like stuck pigs if anyone seriously proposed elimination of Davis Bacon or any of its progeny in the states (and big cities) of the USA.
The Obama Administration has gone one step further than Davis Bacon with a regulatory requirement for a "Project Labor Agreement" on large federal projects, which just about eliminates even the possibility of a non-union contractor getting a Federal contract and paying the "prevailing wages."
It happens occasionally, but only inspite of the Democrats' intentions and wishes.
Your money is being stolen and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Not even the staunchest republican has the balls to fuck with this gravy train.
Then as now, individual Congressmen would seek to "bring home the bacon," by getting legislation passed that called for federal construction projects within their congressional districts. But a problem arose. Some construction companies originating in the Southern states would bring busloads of Negro construction workers up north, bid these federal construction projects at prices lower than the locals were willing to go (Negroes would work for less), and "take the work away from" the local construction workers. People were pissed, and complained to their congresspeople.
So the Davis Bacon Act was passed. It said that on all Federal construction projects, the contractors were required to pay, as a minimum, the prevailing wages in the locality, when bidding on the projects. Thus, there was no advantage to bringing in cheaper workers from outside, because every contractor bidding the job was required to pay the same wages.
But what is the "prevailing wage"?
The job of ascertaining the "prevailing wage" went to the Department of Labor. And since it was controlled by Democrats in the Roosevelt administration, they quickly acquiesced to the Union stooges and decided that, by definition, the "prevailing wage" was going to be the wages paid to construction workers under the local union contracts.
Now this flies in the face of the dictionary definition of "prevailing." In some locations, only 10% of the local construction workers were "organized," and yet in those locations the "prevailing wage" was still deemed to be the union rate(s). So the inherent disadvantage of high union wages was removed from federal construction work, and more efficient, non-union contractors were forced to gross up their bid prices to accommodate the union rates.
The taxpayers were paying - and continue to pay - anywhere from 15-25% MORE THAN NECESSARY ON ALL FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, depending on whose estimates you believe. Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and many, many other states have legislation that parrots the requirements of the Federal Davis Bacon Act, and thus construction costs on government building projects are similarly inflated in those states.
Since government construction dollars are paid, ultimately, by the taxpayers, this means that YOU are paying billions of dollars too much for government construction projects around the country, because of a law that was based purely on racism, and is perpetuated purely as a sop to Big Unions.
As an interesting footnote to this phenomenon, the official position of the AFL-CIO on this matter is that Davis Bacon and other "prevailing wage" laws cost the taxpayers NOTHING, because union construction workers go through apprenticeships, training, and whatnot, and are more efficient than non-union construction workers, so that it actually doesn't cost any more to mandate "prevailing wages" than otherwise.
But of course, they would scream like stuck pigs if anyone seriously proposed elimination of Davis Bacon or any of its progeny in the states (and big cities) of the USA.
The Obama Administration has gone one step further than Davis Bacon with a regulatory requirement for a "Project Labor Agreement" on large federal projects, which just about eliminates even the possibility of a non-union contractor getting a Federal contract and paying the "prevailing wages."
It happens occasionally, but only inspite of the Democrats' intentions and wishes.
Your money is being stolen and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Not even the staunchest republican has the balls to fuck with this gravy train.
