Prevailing wage: Local 49 demands that city hall respect the hard work of area construction workers

A Ham Lake 49er is campaigning for area wage standards on local projects that reward the most–skilled employees – and taxpayers.

Local 49 political organizer Jason George is championing a truly grass-roots cause in his growing Twin Cities suburb: Fair treatment of construction and other workers that also gives citizens the best value for their tax dollars.

George has asked the Ham Lake City Council to pass a prevailing wage ordinance for highway and building construction contracts that include any city funding.

Prevailing wage, already in place with every contract using state or federal funding in Minnesota, means that area standard wages must be paid for work done in the city of Ham Lake. This prevents companies from coming into Ham Lake and underbidding responsible contractors by paying their workers below standard wages.

Local 49ers have a huge stake in seeing that prevailing wage requirements are instituted in Ham Lake and elsewhere, and we couldn’t be more proud of Jason for what he’s doing in his own back yard.

But just as America’s modern labor movement has known since its birth, workers rights will not be respected without a fight. He needs the help of every Local 49er and their families who live in Ham Lake if we are to have any chance to pass a prevailing wage ordinance.

Letters and phone calls have been made to Local 49ers in Ham Lake to make sure they know how important a prevailing wage is to their future and to the future of their city.

Local 49 is raising the volume beyond their own ranks as well, alerting our brothers and sisters in other building trades unions to rally their members in Ham Lake and encourage them to support a prevailing wage ordinance.

That expression of solidarity passed a crucial first test Aug. 3, when Local 49ers, Bricklayers, Carpenters, Electricians, Painters, Pipe Trades, and Sheet Metal workers all came to the City Council meeting in support of prevailing wage. Even though the issue was left off the agenda – lack of city research was the explanation – prevailing wage proponents were there to let the city officials know that this is a critical issue for the community’s workers, and that it deserves their prompt attention.

As long as municipalities do not have prevailing wage laws to protect workers, too many contractors will keep under-bidding responsible contractors by paying their workers far below market value. While these contractors enrich themselves and short-change their non-union work force, they also cheat citizens out of ensuring their tax dollars support highly skilled and productive workers who carry out their craft in a safe and high-quality work environment. They also increase the likelihood that our tax dollars will be unwisely spent on projects that are not done correctly, on time, or safely.

This issue affects all of us in this union. It affects your family. It directly impacts your ability to earn a living. We need you to stand up.

Local 49 is working with the city administrator to help her do her research on this topic so she can present a draft ordinance to the city council for them to discuss. We are pushing hard for this to be done in the next couple of weeks. We will be contacting members that live in Ham Lake as soon as we learn that this issue will be on the official agenda.

If you have any questions or want to get involved please contact political organizer Jason George at 612-877-3755.