Business group initiates bill to repeal prevailing wage law

By David Eggert
Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A business group on Thursday initiated legislation to repeal Michigan’s 50-year-old prevailing wage law, a maneuver that would help conservatives bypass Gov. Rick Snyder if he vetoes a similar bill pending in the Republican-led Legislature.

Protecting Michigan Taxpayers, which has backing from a construction trade organization, announced the submission of a citizens’ initiative to the state election board. If the group’s petition is approved and it collects roughly 252,000 valid voter signatures, the bill would go to the Legislature.

If lawmakers passed the legislation, the GOP governor could not veto it. If legislators did not act or rejected the measure, it would be put to a statewide vote in November 2016.

Chris Fisher, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, said Michigan is one of just six states to require workers on state-financed building projects to be paid prevailing wages based solely on local union contracts.

“It’s time to eliminate this outdated law that unfairly increases the cost of taxpayer-funded construction projects across the state,” he said in a statement. “Every day throughout the broader construction industry, workers across the state put on hard hats and deliver on-time, quality construction without a prevailing wage mandate.”

The Senate last week approved its own legislation that would repeal the law. It is pending in the House but is opposed by Snyder, who signed right-to-work laws more than two years ago but wants to avoid another fight with organized labor in part because he is promoting the trades as a career choice as the workforce ages.

Democrats and other contractors in the construction industry say workers deserve good wages and the current law provides a level playing field to keep firms from undermining companies with cheaper labor.

Protecting Michigan Taxpayers was formed in 2012 to oppose a union-led ballot measure that would have put collective bargaining rights into the state constitution. Donors at the time included industry and trade groups along with chambers of commerce.

The strategy of a signature drive mirrors a successful 2013 campaign by anti-abortion activists for a law requiring people or businesses wanting abortion insurance coverage to buy an extra policy in advance. Snyder had vetoed similar legislation but had no say once the Legislature approved the citizens’ initiative.

“This is all part of democratic process,” Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said Thursday. “The governor’s position on prevailing wage is quite clear, and that hasn’t changed. He’s going to stay very focused on emphasizing the good-paying jobs and career opportunities that the skilled trades can offer our Michiganders and positioning our state as the country’s leader in the skilled trades.”