Prevailing Wage Benefits Local 146 and all of the Southwest U.S.
Prevailing Wage benefits all members of Local 146 and all workers in the piping, plumbing and welding industries.
Prevailing Wage was established with the passing of the Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Act of 1931. Essentially, the Prevailing Wage is the wage rate based in a locality for the cost of labor on a project funded by the local, state or federal government. Any project in any state using federal funding must pay the Prevailing Wage in that area according to the Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Act.
Texas has not established a state Prevailing Wage law requiring a Prevailing Wage to be paid to those working on a state or locally-funded public works projects. Though Prevailing Wage rates differ in every area, they are based on the union wages in a given area. The theory behind Prevailing Wage is that the government should not undercut workers’ wages for labor, as the money will ultimately be spent and put back into the economy. Without a Prevailing Wage law, publicly funded contracts are susceptible to being awarded to out-of-state contractors who will take the wages earned in one state and take them to their home state, having a negative effect on the local economy they earned the wages.
For our Local 146 Brothers and Sisters, our friends and family, please urge your elected officials to support Texas-wide Prevailing Wage legislation. It stands to make our union and our lives better.
