Can We Build It? Not With Michigan’s Prevailing-Wage Mandate
July 21 | Posted by mrossol | Democrat Party, UnionsSource: Can We Build It? Not With Michigan’s Prevailing-Wage Mandate – WSJ
The builders I work with are used to Michigan putting the thumb on the scale for labor unions. But we never expected Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to go so far as to disregard the law. She has unilaterally imposed a prevailing-wage mandate on the biggest state construction projects, even though the state Legislature officially ended this policy in 2018. The nonunion construction companies I represent are no longer able to compete for these contracts fairly and openly. And we aren’t the only losers. Ms. Whitmer is lawlessly sticking it to taxpayers, too.
I was there when the Legislature repealed the prevailing-wage law. Before it happened, Michigan set a floor for the wages and benefits that construction companies had to pay for their contract bids to be considered. It was a blatant handout to unions, since it priced out the 80% of commercial construction companies that aren’t unionized. It also made no sense. Michigan apparently cared more about pay rates than it cared about safety records, quality, efficiency and the cost to taxpayers.
Killing the prevailing-wage law took a lot of work. Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, signed legislation making Michigan a right-to-work state in 2013, but he had little appetite to tackle this issue. So nonunionized construction companies led a citizen initiative under the Michigan Constitution. We collected tens of thousands of signatures, sending the issue straight to the Legislature. Lawmakers overwhelmingly stood with taxpayers, bypassing the governor and ending prevailing wage for the whole state.
People always nodded along. They wouldn’t pick the highest bidder to fix their own roof and they didn’t want politicians to spend more of their tax dollars on local projects than was absolutely necessary.
But economic common sense has nothing to do with Ms. Whitmer’s decision. She announced the reinstatement of prevailing wage in October despite a state law clearly repealing it. Now, whenever officials launch a project that costs $50,000 or more, they are less likely to pick a nonunion business.
More than 5,000 construction companies in Michigan aren’t unionized. The average company employs 50 to 60 workers. That’s tens of thousands of Michigan workers who are more likely to be stuck on the sidelines, when by law they have every right to be in the game.
Unsurprisingly, Ms. Whitmer has shown no sign of changing her mind. She also seems to be unwilling to explain the reasoning behind her actions. My organization filed a public-records request in April, asking for documents explaining why her action is valid. To date we’ve received no documents, only requests for delays. So with the help of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, we’ve filed a lawsuit asking state courts to throw out the prevailing wage.
Michigan law is clear: The prevailing wage is supposed to be dead. All my guys want to do is build the local library at the best cost to taxpayers. But before that can happen, a judge needs to throw the book at Gov. Whitmer.
Mr. Greene is president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, a trade group for nonunion construction companies in the states.
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