AP: In next strike against unions, GOP states go after wage laws

[Omaha Steve]

Carlos Osorio

In this June 10, 2015, photo, construction crews look over the renovation of the Student Center at Wayne State University in Detroit. Expanding the Republican Party’s battle with organized labor, several GOP-dominated legislatures in the Midwest are moving to scrap labor laws that help unions win contracts on public works projects, an important source of construction jobs. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)


http://www.omaha.com/news/nation/in-next-strike-against-unions-gop-states-go-after-wage/article_907cb846-8a98-53fc-898c-7306f93453dd.html

POSTED: TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2015 12:25 AM | UPDATED: 12:45 AM, TUE JUN 16, 2015.
Associated Press |

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Expanding their battle with organized labor, Republican lawmakers in the Midwest are moving to scrap labor laws that help unions win a healthy share of the jobs on public works projects and bolster trade union membership.

Conservative legislators are targeting "prevailing wage" statutes, now on the books in 31 states, that require paying the local wage and benefit rate — usually union scale — on government construction projects such as building schools, fire stations and local roads.

They say the wage laws inflate costs and make it harder for nonunion contractors to compete by making lower bids.

The Indiana Legislature repealed the state's 80-year-old prevailing wage law last month, becoming the first legislature to do so in 27 years. Similar proposals are now before lawmakers in Michigan and Wisconsin. Those three GOP-led states dealt a financial blow to labor in recent years by passing right-to-work laws that bar unions from collecting fees from non-members.

FULL story at link.

[yallerdawg]

1. "Local wages - union wages - inflate costs."

Republicanism at its worst. This is "the race to the bottom!"

Will we rise up in indignation and stop this outrage? *crickets chirping*

Here's a thought.

Maybe we need international trade agreements with enforceable labor standards. Other countries could take our government entities and corporations before tribunals and force America to pay decent fair living wages and force us to recognize basic worker rights as human rights - the right of free assembly, the right to collective bargaining, the right to organize, the right to form and join a union...

Just a thought.

We still have 'our American exceptionalism', don't we?

[SheilaT]

2. Several thoughts.

First one is, would this adversely affect the quality of work done on the projects?

Second is that I sincerely hope not a single union member helped vote in those idiots.

Third is that since union jobs are currently such a low percentage of all jobs, most people won't think this applies to them.

[yallerdawg]

3. The driving force behind this...

is the Republican compulsion to not increase taxes and revenues.

Of course, over time expenses go up, people earn raises, costs of products go up. The Republicans cut taxes or pledged not to raise taxes, and now they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Voters now oppose having their taxes raised (you promised!) but they don't want their services (the ones they use) cut. So no raises, spend less, and provide only the most necessary (politically expedient) services.

The Republicans are bent on destroying our expectations of government, and they are very close. Government is "dysfunctional, bloated, uncontrollable, costly, burdensome - mostly replaceable with private sector, for-profit business entities."

We have lost our collective will for the common good, the general welfare, what government can do best - without profit - and for all.

We'll see if the political pendulum will start to swing left now - or just how right can it go?