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In brief: Taking another shot
State Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin County) plans to soon introduce legislation that would protect municipalities, school districts and other public entities from paying prevailing wages for construction projects that cost less than $250,000.
The Prevailing Wage Act of 1961 forces school districts, municipal governments and other public groups to pay prevailing wages for projects that cost $25,000 or more, according to Marsico's office. Marsico's legislation would increase the threshold to $250,000.
The prevailing wage often equals union wages, which are higher than competitive wage rates, according to Marsico. Prevailing wages normally increases labor costs for a project by 9-30 percent, he said.
Marsico has tried to move prevailing-wage reform forward for the past 20 years. He continues to roll out bills to change the law because it makes fiscal sense, he said. The $25,000 threshold dates back to 1961, Marsico said.
"This is a union vs. taxpayer issue, and unfortunately, the unions have been winning on the issue. You can't hang a door anymore on a school or other public building," Marsico said of the act, which he said interferes with the smallest of public projects.
