CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Construction workers packed the House chamber galleries early Thursday morning, Feb. 19, for a public hearing on the prevailing wage bill.
SB 361 began as a bill to fully repeal prevailing wage for state construction projects. Following widespread opposition, it was revamped to set a method to recalculate the wage.
Twenty-four people spoke, and only two favored a repeal. The rest favored the Senate compromise but suggested some tweaks.
Steve White, with Associated Construction Trades, said the bill needs two amendments: Extend the timelines for calculating the wage and set a secondary, lower dollar threshold for smaller jobs. The bill sets a $500,000 mark for previaling wage to kick in.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., made an appearance to weigh in on the topic. He reminded legislators that the federal Davis-Bacon Act that created prevailing wage was a Republican bill passed during a Republican presidential administration – Herbert Hoover’s in 1931…
