Milwaukee, WI – After legislators took prevailing wage repeal language out of the Wisconsin state budget proposal, two state legislators are circulating pieces of legislation that would repeal the prevailing wage. State Representative Rob Hutton and state Senator Leah Vukmir plan to introduce the bills soon.
Earlier this week, Concerned Veterans for America (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 Policy Director Dan Caldwell issued the following statement:
“We applaud Rep. Hutton and Sen. Vukmir for standing up to big unions and continuing to pursue a prevailing wage repeal. The obsolete prevailing wage laws are holding back Wisconsin’s economy, driving up state taxes, and hurting the ability of veterans to find good-paying jobs after they’ve finished serving. We urge the Wisconsin legislature to move on this new prevailing wage legislation as soon as it is introduced.”
CVA 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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