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Bill to Scale Back Prevailing Wage Passes Senate

State Senators have approved a bill to scale back the state’s prevailing wage law and change the way it’s calculated.

A bill that would have repealed the state’s prevailing wage completely was altered and then approved by senators on a final vote of 23 to 11 Thursday with only Democrats voting against it.

The approved version moves the calculation of the wage from the Division of Labor to Workforce West Virginia in conjunction with economists from West Virginia and Marshall Universities. The bill also requires a half a million dollar minimum cost on public improvement projects for the wage to kick in.

Democratic Senator Doug Facemire opposed the bill saying no one has provided him enough information about what the change would do to the wages of the dozens of union workers who packed the galleries during the floor session.

“Look up in them chambers, these people with coveralls on, work clothes. You reckon’ they think this is good,” he said during a floor speech.

“We don’t know what we’re getting ready to do to these people. Nobody has given me any kind of a figure that says what’ going to happen to these people. I don’t think that’s good government. I think that’s reckless government,” Facemire said.

Other Democrats remarked they would vote against the bill because no one knew for sure the effects the legislation would have on workers’ wages, but Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael said that’s true under the current system.

“It should be absolutely clear to everyone in here, we don’t know what the prevailing wage is going to be next year. It’s a survey method and it can change from year to year under the current system,” he said during his remarks.

“So, nobody in the balconies and nobody in here knows what the current rate, or what the rate for the prevailing wage will be next year under the current system.”

The bill now moves on the House where Speaker Tim Armstead said he expects intense discussion on the bill.

W.Va. Senate GOP Says Deal Struck on Prevailing Wage Changes

State Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael says there's a tentative deal to scale back the state's prevailing wage.The Jackson County Republican said…

State Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael says there’s a tentative deal to scale back the state’s prevailing wage.

The Jackson County Republican said Wednesday the agreement would avoid repealing the wage for public construction projects. Republicans have proposed the repeal.

Carmichael said one provision would remove the wage’s calculation from the state Division of Labor.

Instead, Workforce West Virginia would calculate it, along with West Virginia University and Marshall University economics specialists.

The wage would be reported to lawmakers to approve the methodology.

Carmichael said projects less than $500,000 wouldn’t be subject to the wage.

Steve White, Affiliated Construction Trades director, said it’s promising there will be a deal, but the devil’s in the details.

After delays and behind-the-scene negotiations, the bill is slated for amendments and a vote Thursday.

W.Va. GOP Squashes Democrats Attempt to Stop Prevailing Wage repeal

In a close party-line vote, Republican state senators stymied a Democratic effort to stop a bill that would repeal the state’s prevailing wage.

Democrats failed in a 16-18 Senate vote Thursday to reject the repeal bill, which passed a committee Tuesday.

Democrats said the bill was being wrongly fast-tracked and a compromise between labor and business should have been considered.

“This has been coming. There was plenty of time for compromise, but that compromise was not seen nor embraced,” Sen. Herb Snyder, a Democrat from Jefferson County, said on the floor Thursday.

“What we have done is put fear in the hearts of tens of thousands of West Virginia citizens. Our citizens, Mr. President. Their fear is that they do not know, if this repeal bill passes, what their wages will be.”

Republicans say the free market should dictate wages. They expect amendments to come on the Senate floor.

The bill will be on first reading Friday and up for a vote as early as next week.

The House of Delegates has not considered yet the repeal.

Addition of Parents on the Education Board Has Overwhelming Support in the House

Anyone visiting the state capitol who is licensed to carry concealed weapons would be allowed to keep loaded firearms in their motor vehicles that are parked near the complex. This bill overwhelmingly passed the house Thursday.

Delegate Gary Howell of Mineral County cited the bill as a safety issue.

“This bill addresses a problem that we have. We have our constituents come down from all over the state, normal, average, everyday West Virginians that have their concealed carry permit. They know that they can’t bring them in the buildings, but they don’t know they can’t park in the parking lots,” Howell noted, “This addresses that issue, so they know they can come to the Capitol, and if some time there is a very late night meeting and it’s dark and whatever, they know when they get back to their car, they’re at a point of safety, and I urge passage.”

House Bill 2128 passed 97 to 0.

On second reading, or the amendment stage, was House Bill 2151, which would make the West Virginia teacher of the year an ex officio, nonvoting member of the West Virginia Board of Education.

Delegate Doug Reynolds, a Democrat from Cabell County, stood to offer an amendment to suggest the a change in the qualifications of some members of the Board of Education.

“The purpose of my amendment is to also add in that two members of the 13 must also be parents,” explained Reynolds, “when they’re appointed of children currently under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education.”

Reynolds’ amendment received major support from both sides of the aisle passing 97 to 1. The one rejection vote was from Delegate Joe Statler, a Republican from Monongalia County.

Currently, the Governor appoints the members of the state school board with the advice and consent of the Senate. Reynolds suggests that the Governor must consider board members who actually have school age children. He thinks it would help bring a new perspective.

“I think that parents bring a perspective of what’s going on in the schools,” Reynolds said, “not necessarily what might not be in those rulebooks and what might be in those policies, but how those policies are affecting kids on a day-to-day basis.”

Reynolds says he has nothing against the current school board, but he thinks his amendment will help aim to make the school system better.

“I think it shows that we value the input of parents,” Reynolds explained, “because almost all of the experts I talk to complain about parent engagement, and I think this is showing some leadership and saying we value you, we want your views on the school board.”

With committee passage of the repeal of the prevailing wage in the Senate yesterday and that issue poised for a vote on the senate floor next week, Delegate Mike Caputo warned his house colleagues that the bill is on its way.

“The Senate passed a bill repealing the prevailing wage in West Virginia, a wage that workers depend on to feed their families, that workers depend on to make sure their kids have the same opportunities as rich folks kids have to go to college and have a nice home and a nice car. They’re deeply concerned and they’re deeply worried, and I know you all have gotten the letters that I’ve gotten,” Caputo said, “And I’ve gotten more letters from businesses who are concerned about the repeal of the prevailing wage on what it will do to good West Virginia businesses. It’s been here a long time, and it’s provided a good work place for those men and women. So I would caution us to think long and hard about how we proceed when that bill comes over here.”

Unions Gather at Capitol to Fight Prevailing Wage

“Slow this down. Let’s find some compromise.”

That was the message the director of the Affiliated Construction Trades of West Virginia, Steve White, delivered during a gathering of union officials and members at the state Culture Center Wednesday.

White, his union and other members of the AFL-CIO gathered to speak out against a bill that’s fast tracked through the West Virginia Senate. Senate Bill 261 would repeal the state’s prevailing wage, the hourly, overtime and benefit rates contractors agree to pay their employees when bidding on publicly funded projects.

The bill was introduced in the Senate last week and single referenced to the Committee on Government Organization, which passed a committee substitute Tuesday changing the bill from a total, immediate repeal to expiring the wage rate on April 1, 2015.

“We all know that the federal government has really picked the winners and losers when it comes to our coal industry and the same thing happens with prevailing wage,” Sen. Craig Blair, the bill’s sponsor and chair of the Government Organization Committee, said Wednesday.

“It’s the state government actually picking out the winners and losers.”

Blair maintained repeal would allow government money to be spent more wisely, resulting in savings for West Virginia taxpayers, but White said there’s no evidence to support Blair’s position.

Members of the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions gathered in the Great Hall of the state Culture Center.

In his research, White said he found states that have repealed the requirement have seen no costs savings on public projects and lower overall wages for construction and trade workers.

Some Democratic lawmakers have stood with union leaders to oppose the change, including Sen. Ron Miller who called it a chipping away at workers’ rights during the committee meeting Tuesday.

“Over the past few years, we’ve kind of ignored the workers in many ways. This particular piece of legislation doesn’t just chip, it takes a crow bar and a sledge hammer to workers’ rights,” he said Wednesday.

Both Miller and White, however, maintain there is room for compromise in the bill. White would like to see that come in a change to the calculation of prevailing wage rates and a minimum cap on projects.

Current wage rates are set through a survey the state sends to all state contractors asking about their going rates. White said that could be changed to a process that includes the gathering of more data.

White also said unions would agree to a $250,000 minimum project requirement for new construction projects and a $100,000 for renovations. Once those limits are reached, White said, the prevailing wage would kick in for construction and trade workers.

Sen. John Unger, a Democrat from Berkeley County, was one of many lawmakers who attended the rally.

“We see that we could find common ground, but we’re not having an opportunity to talk about common ground. Instead, bills are being pushed out on party line and we don’t want to be caught between the parties, we just want to have our contractors and workers have a fair deal,” White said.

Senate Bill 261 is scheduled to be reported back to the full Senate Wednesday, leaving it to be voted on early next week.

Blair expects members on both sides of the aisle to attempt to amend the bill on the floor, and expects some of those amendments to be approved, but said leadership does not intend to slow the bill any further.

“We know that the clock is our enemy. We’ve got to make sure we can get this legislation through our chamber, through the other chamber [and] to the governor’s office,” he said.

“The governor always has the potential to veto it and then we have the potential to override that veto.”

Blair said his party does not want to lose a crucial piece of legislation because they couldn’t beat the clock.