“There’s a reason Michiganders repealed prevailing wage”
LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Jon Bumstead on Friday condemned the decision by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reinstate prevailing wage on state-awarded construction contracts.
“There’s a reason why Michiganders signed on to a petition to repeal our state’s antiquated prevailing wage laws three years ago,” said Bumstead, R-Newaygo, who owns a construction company. “Free and open bidding of state contracts is a good thing. Prevailing wage, on the other hand, is anticompetitive, bad for taxpayers, and hurts the economy and, ultimately, the workers its backers allege to support. It simply does not make sense for taxpayer-funded construction contracts to cost more than non-government projects for no reason other than the government demands it.
“The truth is, workers are earning more today without prevailing wage. With thousands of unfilled jobs in our state, we should be focusing on promoting skilled trades education and job training programs to help fill these high-paying opportunities. The governor’s decision to reinstate prevailing wage is unfortunately another overreach by the executive branch.”
In 2018, a citizen-led petition initiative to repeal the state’s outdated and harmful prevailing wage laws was approved by Legislature.
###