The reasons may be the same today as they were in 1935 when Indiana’s Common Construction Wage Act was adopted. Though not everyone realizes it.
Back then, legislators wanted to be sure that construction laborers were paid adequate wages when working on public projects.
Today, Hoosiers would likely want to be assured of fair wages. But the current Indiana General Assembly and Gov. Mike Pence have attacked the law with plans to repeal it. They say the repeal will bolster small businesses and kill what has become a government-mandated price-fixing “scheme.”
The repeal is another stab into the heart of unions.
Originally, the Republican-backed act was in response to contractors coming from outside Indiana and undercutting Hoosier businesses. The act established wage rates that were paid to workers on public construction projects. Wages are set up through public hearings of local committees. The committee set wages for workers in each classified trade being used on the project. The hearings are open to the public to help offer transparency.
As an example, a skilled bricklayer could earn $28 an hour with a $13 hourly fringe pay for benefits. A semi-skilled bricklayer would earn $21 an hour; unskilled at $14.
Indeed, the law has gone through changes since its creation. The size and makeup of committees has changed but includes taxpayers, the agency building the project and industry experts. The threshold for projects has increased from $25,000 to the current $350,000, above which the committees must set wage schedules.
But instead of again fine-tuning the law, the General Assembly is tossing it out all together.
The Republican-led Legislature could have adjusted the makeup of committees to reduce union participation or again altered the project cost levels.
Now, with the repeal, there is no guarantee that Hoosier companies will benefit. The Common Construction Wage was used for such projects as Indianapolis International Airport, Lucas Oil Stadium and Ivy Tech additions. Hoosier quality was behind those jobs.
With the repeal, competition may increase; small businesses may well be able to afford to bid on these projects.
But with the repeal, Hoosier companies might not be the ones to benefit from public work projects — construction jobs paid for by Indiana tax dollars. The fear, of course, is that out-of-state firms may take on the projects and, perhaps, perform shoddy work. It is not a far-fetched scenario.
In fact, it’s the same scenario that created the law in the first place.