Prevailing Wage benefits Local 404 and all of the southwest U.S.

Prevailing Wage was established with the passing of the Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Act of 1931. Essentially, Prevailing Wage is the wage rate and benefits based in a locality for the cost of labor on a project.

Any project in any state that uses federal funds must pay the Prevailing Wage in that area thanks to the Davis-Bacon Act.

Prevailing Wage not only helps level the playing field for contractors by ensuring contractors who bid on projects do not undercut wages, but it also ensures construction workers receive a livable wage and good benefits when working on government projects.

Without a Prevailing Wage law, publicly funded contracts are susceptible to being awarded to out-of-state contractors whose employees will earn wages and send them back them to their home state. This creates a negative effect on the local economy, as tax dollars leave the area and not reinvested. Prevailing Wage not only helps keep local tax dollars in the local economy, but it helps reduce worker misclassification and wage theft on government projects. 

Similar to Davis-Bacon, Prevailing Wage requirements on projects allow contractors to compete for public projects based on skill, productivity and management abilities – not the lowest price. 

Oftentimes, this means a highly trained and highly skilled workforce will be chosen to construct a public project over a poorly trained workforce employed by a fly-by-night contractor. As a result, the project will be built following all safety guidelines and require workers to have industry-leading OSHA safety certifications. 

While Texas does not have a state Prevailing Wage law, Texans can still receive Prevailing Wage if the construction project receives federal funds. 

For our Local 404 Brothers and Sisters, our friends and family, please urge your elected officials to support Texas-wide Prevailing Wage legislation. It stands to make our union and our lives better.