The law was signed in 1965, meaning 50 years of union-driven, artificially hiked construction costs on state-funded projects.
That’s a half-century.
But thanks to the Michigan Supreme Court, 2015 could also see the beginning of the end of these wretched policies, at least at local levels.
...And it is long overdue.
For five decades (and as written here nearly two years ago), workers on state-funded construction projects such as school buildings are paid wages and benefits “that are determined by unions, not by the free market rate – no matter what the lowest bid is for the job.”
So the 18 percent of construction workers in the state of Michigan who are unionized get to set the wages for 100 percent of construction workers.
Those wages are about 60 percent higher than what the market would determine. And before even starting the chorus of “but you should thank us for your higher pay,” know that the average free market wage for these jobs is already $23 an hour.
If the prevailing wage was needed before, it isn’t now.
According to a 2013 report by the Anderson Economic Group, these artificially inflated wages significantly raise the costs to build Michigan schools and universities, with an extra $224 million each year out of the pockets of Michigan taxpayers.
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