Prevailing wage law eases into Eaton County
CHARLOTTE - In some communities, getting a prevailing wage law adopted is like pulling teeth.

Not so in Eaton County, located southwest of Lansing, where on March 19, the Board of Commissioners adopted an ordinance that requires the payment of prevailing wage on publicly funded construction projects that exceed $10,000.

"The process took probably six months from start to finish, but we got it done," said Glenn Freeman III, a county commissioner who was the prime mover of the ordinance. Freeman is also a Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 333 member. "Maybe we just surprised them, but there really wasn't very much opposition."

Freeman said Democrats have recently assumed an 8-7 majority on the Board of Commissioners, but the prevailing wage measure was adopted in a bipartisan 12-2 vote. Freeman gave a tip of the cap to IBEW union members who filled the commission meeting hall the night the decision was made.

Both the federal government and State of Michigan, as well as numerous counties and cities, have prevailing wage laws. Such laws require that construction wages which "prevail" in a given geographic area must be paid to construction workers on publicly funded projects. Modeled after the federal Davis-Bacon Act from the 1930s, prevailing wage prevents unscrupulous contractors from underbidding local established contractors through the use of underpaid, out-of-area labor. In this era of rampant use of illegal immigrants, the law still makes sense, because it helps keep local workers employed and local workers paying taxes.

Ron Sweat, business manager of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 671, suggested that if the local political environment is sufficiently friendly, building trades unions might consider pushing for a "Labor Harmony Agreement." For the last two years, the City of Monroe and Monroe County have operated under separate agreements that require the hiring of union-signatory contractors on projects involving taxpayer dollars.

"Labor harmony agreements are good way to go, too," Sweat said. "It's much easier to police. You don't have to keep an eye on things like certified payroll. All you need to do is make sure the contractors are signatory."


Unions support Macomb executive
Macomb County voters will go to the polls Tuesday, May 6 to decide whether to change the county's charter and create the position of county executive.

The county is currently governed by a 26-member Board of Commissioners - but no executive leader. A petition drive held last year garnered 20 percent more signatures than necessary to place the issue on the ballot.

The ballot language states: "Shall the county of Macomb elect a charter commission for the purpose of framing and submitting to the electorate of the county a county home rule charter under the constitution and laws of Michigan?"

Supporters of the change say the broad language is mandated by state law, but will lead to an elected county executive and a reduced number of county commissioners.

The ballot effort to put a strong leader form of government on the ballot is supported by a number of unions, including the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO.