Prevailing Wage Repeal Would Hurt Kentucky’s Economy

Repealing Kentucky’s prevailing wage law would weaken the state’s economy, according to a new study.

Eliminating prevailing wage would cause a pay cut for middle-class workers, qualify more workers for public assistance, slash apprenticeship training, and result in more of Kentucky’s tax dollars going to out-of-state or foreign contractors. Veterans, who populate construction trades at a higher rate than non-veterans, would be particularly impacted if Kentucky were to repeal its prevailing wage standards.

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Prevailing Wage Is the Local Market Rate in Illinois

A new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) finds no evidence for the assertion that prevailing wage “inflates” construction worker wages in Illinois. In fact, after analyzing counties along Illinois’ border, the report finds that a higher prevailing wage for operating engineers has no statistical impact on employment or turnover for men working in road construction. Instead, local market conditions are by far the primary drivers of public construction outcomes.  Continue reading “Prevailing Wage Is the Local Market Rate in Illinois”

8 of the 10 Most-Equal, Highest-Paying Occupations in Illinois Are in Construction

The majority of high-wage, low-inequality jobs in Illinois are in construction occupations, law enforcement careers, and firefighting positions. Politically-driven efforts to repeal the state’s prevailing wage law or to weaken public sector unions would decimate a majority of the middle-class occupations that remain for blue-collar workers in the state.

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