Broad Based Coalition Supports Davis-Bacon Reform

News release from the Alliance for Worker Freedom on coalition of organizations (including the Commonwealth Foundation) supporting Davis-Bacon reform:

According to James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation, “In almost every case, the prevailing wages do not resemble the actual market wages. Davis-Bacon wages vary from 38 percent below market wages for electricians in Tampa Bay to 73 percent above market wages for plumbers in San Francisco.” This outdated, Depression-era wage subsidy system is forcing the burden on taxpayers in one city and altering market wages in another – reform or repeal, not status quo, are the only options.

Rather than broadening the scope of the Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wage laws, as seen in the recent energy legislation, we are asking you to consider the preceding evidence and reform or repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. We are urging you to pass legislation that requires the Department of Labor to calculate prevailing wages using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which utilizes proper statistical techniques. By using larger geographical areas, rather than civil divisions, the BLS data generates valid random samples that will reflect a true market wage.

Click here for briefing packet with more info.