AWF Letter to Gov. Patrick (D-MA) Urging Veto of All Prevailing Wage Laws
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April 18, 2008
Massachusetts State House
Office of the Governor
The Honorable Deval Patrick
Room 360
Boston, MA, 02133
Dear Governor Patrick:
On behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom, a special project dedicated to protecting workers’ rights, and millions of rank-and-file hardworking Americans, I am urging you to veto any legislation that expands the scope and coverage of the current prevailing wage law. These planned policies promote an alleged public good at the expense of another.
As you know, currently, the legislature is working on legislation that will profoundly expand the definition and application of prevailing wage laws in the state. This amendment will increase construction costs in your state prodigiously. The state cannot dish out higher wages and simultaneously work for the construction of more units. Simply put: an expansion of prevailing wage laws means fewer affordable units, and less value for the taxpayer.
According to a Beacon Hill Institute study, prevailing wage laws nationally inflate government construction costs by 22 percent annually; specifically in Massachusetts, the construction of affordable housing units that would be most affected would increase by 34 percent, or $60,000 per unit will occur, at the large expense of the American taxpayer. Nationally, it is estimated that the taxpayer spends $8.6 billion in costs related to prevailing wage increases.
On behalf of Massachusetts taxpayers, I strongly urge you to veto any legislation that increases the breath and range of current prevailing wage laws.
Sincerely,
Brian M Johnson,
Director of Policy
C.C. All Members of the Massachusetts State House and Senate
