Editorial “Martin, Stuckey reform efforts” * opines “Lancaster County commissioners Scott martin and Dennis Stuckey are the latest to step up to the plate in opposition to the 50-year-old law that provides for artificially high wages for workers on publicly funded construction projects, including those at public schools.”…
“Others Point to the unfairness of the process, whereby the prevailing wage is set by union collective-bargaining agreements, and not by fair market value for a particular trade or skill set.”
WATCHDOG: “Prevailing wage” per se is not a bad thing when it actually reflects the construction wages. But utilizing a negotiated rate set by unions and a minority of contractors to set wages for open shop (non-unionized) companies who are in the majority, such as in the Central Pennsylvania region, imposes an artificial and punitive expense on public works.
Rather than repealing Prevailing Wage, it should be made more representative of the actual construction wages of the communities with a maximum of 5% deviation upwards.
*Once again, a current article is not posted on LancasterOnLine.com. If the print edition is frequently some of yesterday’s news tomorrow, the online version is too often today’s news never.
I agree with your closing sentiment, but it’s still all ‘local’; and that appears to be the only driving mantra behind whatever they “report” or deem worthy of sharing with their readership. LNP has become boring, other than the obituary and sports sections.