WISCONSIN BUILDING TRADES

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA 

2007-08 Legislative Session

PREVAILING WAGE

Prevailing Wage Enforcement

• Complaint Procedure.  Allow employees to file anonymous complaints as provided under federal Davis-Bacon rules.

• Payroll Records.  Certified payroll records should be collected by DWD, similar to the current effective process in DOT.

• Target Resources.  The limited resources of the state should be targeted to projects that are not performed under collective bargaining agreements, because labor unions are already subject to oversight by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Prevailing Wage Survey

• White Sheet Work.  Allow rates on white sheet (public) work to be reported on the annual prevailing wage survey when the rate paid is greater than the determined rate for the county.  Currently, the survey measures only the rates in private sector work.

• Filing of Reports.  Allow for third party reporting as is provided under federal Davis-Bacon rules.  The state survey verifies private sector rates and it is vital to have accurate reporting for the determination of prevailing wage rates. Contractors can be less careful and thorough when reporting during busy times, and unions have a major stake in the integrity of the data.

Prevailing Wage Threshold

• Moratorium.  Declare a moratorium on the adjustment of thresholds for application of prevailing wage rates. Agreed-upon changes to prevailing wage law in 1995 allowed for adjustment of the thresholds based on national construction cost statistics.  Because of this, growing numbers of state public works projects are falling outside of prevailing wage regulations.  This creates a lack of accountability to workers and taxpayers on many publicly-funded building and construction projects.

2007-09 STATE BUDGET

• Support the sources of revenue proposed in Governor Doyle’s Transportation Budget.

BEST VALUE CONTRACTING

• Current law specifies that the lowest responsible bid must be taken on public projects funded by the state.  Best Value Contracting procedures would allow certain criteria to be considered in addition to the bid price.  These criteria can include past contractor performance, availability of apprenticeship and skill training programs, safety record, quality control and other factors.  Awards are based on the best combination of price and qualifications.  Best Value Contracting is currently being applied to nearly 70 percent of federal construction dollars.

CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION

• There is a growing problem in the construction industry of employers misclassifying workers as “independent contractors”, which gives these employers a competitive advantage.  Any person who desires to act as a contractor or subcontractor should be required to meet certain standards established by the Department of Commerce and register with the state.  This will also protect consumers from low quality contractors, as well as protect labor standards in the building trades.

ENERGY POLICY AND THE BUILDING TRADES

• The growing demand to reduce American dependence on foreign oil will require the efficient use of existing energy resources and the creation of alternatives.  This offers opportunities for job creation in the building trades sector. The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, the Apollo Alliance and building trades unions will work together to help the state meet its energy independence goals.

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