The tug-of-war between labor and business over Connecticut's prevailing
wage is heating up once again at the State Capitol.
A litany of bills aimed at reducing, or outright
eliminating, the state's prevailing wage are being debated in the Labor and
Public Employees Committee, drawing support from businesses and some
municipalities and opposition from unions.
State Sen. Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) is behind many of the
measures, including Senate Bills 180, 181, and 182. One bill aims to eliminate Connecticut's prevailing
wage, while the other two propose to increase the wage threshold.
Prevailing wage laws require workers on public works
construction projects to receive the same wage that is customarily paid for the
same work in the project's town. For example, if a bricklayer on a
private-sector job in Farmington
customarily receives $59.96 an hour in wages and benefits, a bricklayer on a
public works construction project in town is required to be paid the same rate.
The law aims to keep government's use of low-bid contracting
from significantly reducing the market price of labor.