History of Davis-Bacon

[msgadget]

What do you think? I think suspending the act helps keep downward pressure on wages. There's nothing preventing contractors from hiring non-union labor and paying them based on their skill levels. Or, is it mandatory that the union be involved in all construction...?

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The law was introduced and passed to block wage competition from black construction workers after an Alabama contractor's successful bid on a federal construction project on Long Island in 1927.

The Bacon in Davis-Bacon was Long Island Congressman Robert Bacon. "The neighboring community was very upset," he explained. He also stressed that his call to pay "prevailing wages" on federal construction projects had the endorsement of the president of the American Federation of Labor, who had noted that "colored labor is being brought in to demoralize wage rates."

At the time Davis-Bacon was enacted, the black unemployment rate was similar to that of the general population. A year later, of the 4,100 workers employed on the Boulder Dam project, only 30 were black. Davis-Bacon had fulfilled its promise. More than 30 states soon enacted their own versions.

Hiring local labor to rebuild their own communities is hard when you must pay anyone willing to hit a nail with a hammer the same rate as a union carpenter. The act effectively excludes nonunion workers and contractors from reconstruction projects. At the same time, it adds billions in costs and makes it harder to bring low-skilled, unemployed minorities into the work force.

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[cleofus1]

1. i call it

the leave no white person behind program

[msgadget]

2. And, the irony that it was enacted to protect against the 'cheap labor'

of that day - black folks - repealing it is supposed to help minority contractors to compete...by continuing to use cheap labor. I'll be watching to see how many minority contractors participate.

Edit for clarification (which may not have helped!)