Madison, WI – Today the Wisconsin state Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform will hold a public hearing on repealing the prevailing wage.
Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Policy Director Dan Caldwell issued the following statement:
“The prevailing wage isn’t good for veterans or anyone else in the state besides union bosses. These laws drive up the cost of important projects and foot taxpayers with the bill, killing jobs and stifling the state economy. We urge the Wisconsin legislature to fast track this proposal to eliminate prevailing wage laws and give everyone a fair shot at economic opportunity.”
After legislators took prevailing wage repeal language out of the Wisconsin state budget proposal, legislators began circulating pieces of legislation that would achieve the repeal separately.
Earlier this month, CVA released web ads targeted at Wisconsin legislators. The ads highlight the positive impact that a prevailing wage repeal would have on veterans in the state.
CVA also recently released a memo which refutes the myth, propagated by union-backed groups, that veterans support prevailing wage laws. There is no evidence that veterans as a demographic benefit from prevailing wage laws – in fact, these laws have been found to constrain job growth and increase the costs of construction projects.
Prevailing wage laws, which were adopted in Wisconsin nearly 85 years ago, mandate that contractors are paid based on rates decided by unions. Instead of having the market determine how much these services are valued by the state, union bosses get to decide – and then taxpayers get stuck with the bill. Prevailing wage laws result in higher taxpayer costs and can limit the ability of many small businesses to compete for government work.
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