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Labor-Friendly Republicans Join Dems in Wage Fight
More than three dozen House Republicans are joining Democrats in a fight to reverse President George W. Bush's decision to slash wages for workers on Gulf Coast recovery and reconstruction projects.
While contractors stand to pocket tens of millions of dollars in profit, Bush's suspension of the 74-year-old Davis-Bacon Act ensures that little will trickle down to the region's devastated workers. The law requires federal contractors to pay prevailing wages in a project area. Now contractors won't have to pay more than the minimum wage, $5.15 an hour.
Bush happily complied when a group of anti-worker Republican House members urged him to revoke the rule shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck. But now 37 House Republicans, led by Steven LaTourette of Ohio and Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey, have written Bush asking him to reinstate the prevailing wage law.
Meanwhile, 25 senators led by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) have introduced the Fair Wages for Hurricane Katrina Recovery Workers Act to overturn the suspension. Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) has introduced a similar bill in the House.
LaTourette and LoBiondo say they will push for House action next week if Bush doesn't act on his own. "We can spend billions of dollars to rebuild roads, bridges and levees and hope that they are properly constructed by skilled laborers so they withstand the next hurricane, or we can skimp and try to save a few bucks an hour on wages," LaTourette said.
LoBiondo said he's "deeply concerned that those who are working tirelessly to rebuild communities across the Gulf Coast region are not being justly compensated. The indefinite suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act threatens the ongoing reconstruction of public services, transportation infrastructure, and city buildings by not fairly reimbursing skilled professionals for their hard work."
LaTourette and LoBiondo are co-chairs of the Republican Working Group on Labor. The two men also introduced a resolution last week to force the White House to provide information regarding contracts in the Gulf Coast at the time Bush suspended Davis-Bacon, saying transparency is essential when billions of dollars are at stake.
"There's virtually no record keeping, no accountability and the potential for shoddy workmanship by unskilled workers," LaTourette said. "Congress has already approved more than $60 billion in funding for Katrina efforts, and there are few controls as to how the money is spent or misspent."
CWA Chief Lobbyist Lou Gerber noted the irony of the Republican White House and GOP leaders opposing Davis-Bacon: Representative Robert Bacon of New York and Senator James Davis of Pennsylvania, who introduced the bill in 1931, were both Republicans.
While contractors stand to pocket tens of millions of dollars in profit, Bush's suspension of the 74-year-old Davis-Bacon Act ensures that little will trickle down to the region's devastated workers. The law requires federal contractors to pay prevailing wages in a project area. Now contractors won't have to pay more than the minimum wage, $5.15 an hour.
Bush happily complied when a group of anti-worker Republican House members urged him to revoke the rule shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck. But now 37 House Republicans, led by Steven LaTourette of Ohio and Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey, have written Bush asking him to reinstate the prevailing wage law.
Meanwhile, 25 senators led by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) have introduced the Fair Wages for Hurricane Katrina Recovery Workers Act to overturn the suspension. Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) has introduced a similar bill in the House.
LaTourette and LoBiondo say they will push for House action next week if Bush doesn't act on his own. "We can spend billions of dollars to rebuild roads, bridges and levees and hope that they are properly constructed by skilled laborers so they withstand the next hurricane, or we can skimp and try to save a few bucks an hour on wages," LaTourette said.
LoBiondo said he's "deeply concerned that those who are working tirelessly to rebuild communities across the Gulf Coast region are not being justly compensated. The indefinite suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act threatens the ongoing reconstruction of public services, transportation infrastructure, and city buildings by not fairly reimbursing skilled professionals for their hard work."
LaTourette and LoBiondo are co-chairs of the Republican Working Group on Labor. The two men also introduced a resolution last week to force the White House to provide information regarding contracts in the Gulf Coast at the time Bush suspended Davis-Bacon, saying transparency is essential when billions of dollars are at stake.
"There's virtually no record keeping, no accountability and the potential for shoddy workmanship by unskilled workers," LaTourette said. "Congress has already approved more than $60 billion in funding for Katrina efforts, and there are few controls as to how the money is spent or misspent."
CWA Chief Lobbyist Lou Gerber noted the irony of the Republican White House and GOP leaders opposing Davis-Bacon: Representative Robert Bacon of New York and Senator James Davis of Pennsylvania, who introduced the bill in 1931, were both Republicans.