Kochs Support Prevailing Wage Bill
GOP bill pushed by ALEC and group's treasurer, Sen Leah Vukmir.
Koch Brothers
Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would fully repeal the state’s prevailing wage law, which sets minimum pay requirements for companies that are chosen for state building projects.
The measure follows a successful 2015 effort by the GOP-controlled legislature that eliminated the prevailing wage for local public works projects beginning on Jan. 1, 2017, and prohibited local governments and school districts from enacting their own prevailing wage requirements. That was part of the 2015-17 state budget approved by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
The latest effort to fully repeal state and local prevailing wage laws matches the agenda of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a special interest bill mill that hawks pro-business economic and social policy proposals to state legislators around the country. ALEC has received funding from Charles and David Koch, and Koch Industries is a member of ALEC. ALEC was created in the 1970s and is made up of powerful special interests and state legislators who create and exchange model legislation that can be introduced in statehouses across the country.
The 2015 effort to repeal the prevailing wage was backed by business, construction, and municipal utility interests, and two rightwing groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers. The groups are Americans for Prosperity, a conservative electioneering group that spent an estimated $5.7 million since January 2010 to help elect GOP legislators and Walker, and Concerned Veterans for America. The construction industry was split on repealing the law.
Americans for Prosperity makes no direct contributions to candidates, but business, construction and municipal utility interests doled out about $8.9 million to Walker and about $3.2 million to current GOP legislators between January 2010 and December 2016. Vukmir got about $47,400 and Hutton accepted about $4,200 from business and construction interests during that time.
Prevailing wage critics say the requirement can artificially inflate wages for workers on public projects, and removing it could save taxpayer dollars. Supporters of a prevailing wage say abolishing it could cut wages for middle-class workers. They also say the requirement ensures taxpayer dollars are spent wisely by preventing under-bidding by shoddy or out-of-state contractors.
Informative article. The title however implies that the Koch brothers support a bill that would protect the prevailing wage law, which is the exact antithesis to your story. Perhaps something like “Koch Brothers Support Repeal of Prevailing Wage Law” would be more accurate and less misleading.
No matter when, where or how, the corporations, by way of their lap dogs (our state legislators and governor), will prevent the middle class from making a living wage. The goal is to eliminate any vehicle that would improve the economic status of their employees.