Election Day Made a Difference: Rebuilding Wisconsin Infrastructure with Family-Wage Jobs

Thanks to the political efforts of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and affiliated unions, the 2009-2011 Biennial State Budget included adequate funding for transportation and provisions to ensure the creation of high-quality construction jobs. 

Construction related to several newly created Regional Transit Authorities will be subject to prevailing wage laws, which have been used since the 1930’s to make sure that public construction projects pay wages that are appropriate in a given geographic area. 

“When public money goes into a project, taxpayers should demand that the jobs created won’t erode the local standard of living,” explains Phil Neuenfeldt, Secretary Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “These rules benefit the community and lead to higher quality construction.”

In fact, the state budget included significant improvements and reforms to existing prevailing wage statutes.  These reforms will verify that employers are complying with prevailing wage requirements.  Smaller public projects will now be subject to the prevailing wage law and the regulations will now extend to private construction projects that receive over $1 million in public taxpayer funds. 

Strengthening and extending prevailing wage laws raises the standard of living for workers and has a positive ripple effect throughout our economy as those workers spend the wages that they have earned.

The State Recovery Package, which was passed by the legislature as Senate Bill 62 and signed into law separately from the budget, is also a significant victory for families and individuals longing to get back to work.  This new law positions Wisconsin to productively and efficiently channel federal stimulus funds into transportation projects and improved workforce training opportunities, especially in jobs related to the green economy.

And last but not least, Senate Bill 672 cracks down on employers who commit fraud by deliberately misclassifying employees as “independent contractors”. This is an especially serious problem in the construction industry, where unscrupulous contractors routinely under bid law abiding ones.  

Before SB 672, companies that broke the law could save as much as 30% in labor-related costs by not paying Workers Compensation coverage, Unemployment Insurance taxes, federal and state payroll taxes, and benefits that would normally apply to regular employees, such as health insurance.

Workers who are misclassified as independent contractors are also denied the protections afforded by wage and hour laws.

SB 672 requires the state Department of Workforce Development to provide more education on the proper classification of employees, to coordinate stronger enforcement of current laws with other agencies, and to investigate construction job sites to ensure that individuals are properly classified as employees or independent contractors. If a construction contractor refuses to comply with the law, a “stop work order” can be issued.

To learn more about how the 2009-2010 Session of the Wisconsin State Legislature benefited working people, click here to read a more detailed report.

“Pro-worker legislation, such as prevailing wage improvements, sat idle in the legislature for the past 20 years, until we elected a better government in 2008,” says Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby.  “In 2010 we have to do it again.  We’ll be out there, backing the candidates who support working families.”

(Top Photo: Rich Abelson, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 48 speaking at yesterday's Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Press Conference. Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Christine Neuman-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera are also pictured. Top Left Photo: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Phil Neuenfeldt talking about job creation at the UAW Fair Trade Rally in outside of the shuttered Delphi Automotive plant in Oak Creek, WI.  Top Right Photo: Kelly Buss of LIUNA Local 330 at the 23rd Annual Labor Leaders Conference in Neenah, WI.  Participants at the conference discussed how to engage union members in political action, which will lead to more family-wage jobs.  Middle Left Photo: Jim Wegand of IBEW Local 2150 enjoying an educational day at the conference.  Middle Left Photo: Louann Bougie of USW Local 2-144 at the 23rd Annual Labor Leaders Conference.  Bottom Left Photo: Congressman Steve Kagen talking to Lyle Balistreri, President of the Milwaukee Building Trades and Construction Council at a recent Wisconsin State AFL-CIO political steering committee meeting.  Bottom Right Photo: Tim Coughlin and Jim Coumen of Carpenters Local 314 brave the elements to raise funds for political education at the South Central Federation of Labor's 51st Annual Bean Feed.  Pictures contributed by Jenissee Volpintesta, Greg Hinds, Justin Geiger, and Greg Neil. 

For more pictures of union leaders and volunteers building the political power necessary to strengthen our economy, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/.)