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CityAndStatePA .com
ASK THE EXPERTS:
What to do with the prevailing wage? Ask a construction worker: It’s a must. By Justin Sweitzer
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REVAILING WAGE laws may not get the attention that minimum wage debates do, but state and federal laws mandating certain wages and benefits for those working on public construction projects have been a point of contention between lawmakers, advocates and workers for years. Both the state Prevailing Wage Act and the federal Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931, require construction workers to be paid a base wage – plus benefits – for any construction project that requires taxpayer dollars to complete. Proponents of the laws say the mandates result in higher wages and better standards of living, while critics argue that such requirements artificially inflate the cost of construction projects, leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab. City & State reached out to the following experts about the benefits and drawbacks of prevailing wage requirements: Frank Gamrat, executive director of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy; Ryan Boyer, business manager of the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council; Republican state Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill; and Democratic state Sen. Christine Tartaglione, minority chair of the Senate Labor & Industry Committee. The following responses have been edited for length and clarity. How does the state’s Prevailing Wage Act affect workers and the economy as a whole? Frank Gamrat: For the economy as a whole, the prevailing wage law is more of a signal to employers who are looking to locate or expand. It signals that the state is not afraid to meddle in the affairs of private businesses by issuing mandates that will likely raise the cost of doing business. It makes Pennsylvania very uncompetitive when compared to states that don’t have prevailing
September 2021
