The Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts (“Davis-Bacon Act”) ensure that construction workers on federal and federally assisted projects are paid at least the locally prevailing wage.
These laws prevent federal and federally assisted construction contracts from artificially depressing local wages and economies. Building trades unions support the consistent application of the Davis-Bacon Act and oppose all legislative and regulatory efforts to repeal or undermine this essential worker protection. We encourage Congress to stand with the working families of the building trades to protect and grow Davis-Bacon application in federal law so that we can rebuild domestic family-supporting jobs with good wages, health and retirement benefits.
For over 90 years, the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts have enjoyed bipartisan support. Regardless of party control, Congress has consistently applied prevailing wage requirements to a broad range of federally assisted projects because such laws help workers maintain a decent standard of living while ensuring that taxpayers receive a fair value for their investment. Under prevailing wage laws, contractors must compete for work on the basis of who can best train, best equip and best manage a construction crew – not on the basis of who can assemble the cheapest, most exploitable workforce. As is, the construction industry is awash with illegal labor practices, including wage theft, the exploitation of undocumented workers, cash only payments, and employee misclassification. By ignoring federal and state labor laws, low-road contractors are able to save 30 percent or more in labor costs. Brazen lawbreaking has become the norm in many pockets of the construction industry. Prevailing wage laws help minimize such practices by setting a wage floor and requiring proactive government oversight by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and contracting agencies.
Prevailing wage laws promote middle-class pathways and protect all workers against exploitation regardless of race, ethnicity and gender. Contrary to the claims of pro-business, anti-worker groups, studies consistently show that prevailing wage laws do not have a discriminatory effect. They level the playing field for contractors, preventing employers from discriminating against any particular group of workers by paying them less. In fact, peer-reviewed studies show that prevailing wage reduces the racial wage disparity in construction by up to 53 percent.
The prevailing wage is not a “union” wage. DOL establishes prevailing wages by county, for each classification of worker, based on survey data it collects from construction projects in the area. Anyone can participate in DOL’s wage surveys: contractors, contractor associations, labor organizations, public officials and other interested parties. Without this wage floor, bidding in federal procurement would produce a race to the bottom in wages and benefits, resulting in higher poverty rates, increased dependency on public assistance, and lower tax revenues. Prevailing wages do not affect construction costs.
The preponderance of independent, peer-reviewed studies show that prevailing wages have no impact on construction costs. This is because construction labor costs comprise a low share of total project costs. And high-road contractors who pay family-sustaining wages and benefits are able to offset the hourly labor costs attributable to prevailing wages by hiring and retaining the most skilled and productive workers. Further, in an economy where qualified craft workers are in high demand, prevailing wage laws promote workforce development and recruitment by incentivizing registered apprenticeship programs.
