Sen. Wallingford seeks to fix, not repeal prevailing wage

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, wants to fix rather than repeal Missouri’s prevailing wage law.

“I think most people realize this needs some fixes,” he said.

Gov. Eric Greitens has called for a repeal of the law, which requires contractors to pay a state-determined minimum wage for each construction trade on public-works projects.

The Republican-led Missouri House gave initial approval Tuesday to repealing the wage law. The vote was 93-60. Republican state representatives Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau, Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson, Holly Rehder of Sikeston and Rick Francis of Perryville all voted for repeal.

Francis said earlier this legislative session “prevailing wages cost our state and local governments and school districts millions of dollars a year.”

Swan and other local lawmakers argue the current law drives up the cost of tax-funded projects.

But Wallingford said he doesn’t want a complete repeal.

“My goal is to fix it, not just throw it away,” he said.

Wallingford met earlier this year in Cape Girardeau with about 20 area contractors. Wallingford said union and nonunion contractors told him they don’t want lawmakers to repeal the prevailing-wage law.

The Republican senator said he has discussed the issue with state Sen. Gina Walsh, a St. Louis County Democrat who has experience in the construction-trades industry.

Wallingford said he hopes some “compromise” legislation can be crafted and approved by lawmakers.

Wallingford said the problem with the current law centers on the Missouri Department of Labor’s annual survey of wage rates, which is used to calculate the rates by county for each construction trade.

The GOP senator said the wage rates are flawed because many independent contractors don’t fill out the form, while “labor unions are good at filling out the forms.” The result is wage rates do not accurately reflect the local labor market, he said.

Wallingford said he would like to see a mechanism developed to determine wage rates accurately.

“I think the real key is filling out the paperwork,” he said.

He also said it is important to have “quality craftsmanship” on construction projects. Eliminating the prevailing wage could open the door to low-wage workers who are less skilled, Wallingford said.

Labor unions provide skilled training for their members and health insurance, according to Rick McGuire, business manager for Laborers Union Local 1140 in Cape Girardeau.

Tim Pekios, who operates nonunion Midwest Environmental Studies, a Cape Girardeau-based asbestos-abatement company, favors keeping the prevailing-wage law.

“It is not just a union thing,” he said Wednesday.

Pekios, who was one of the contractors who met with Wallingford in February, said the current law “allows all companies to get the best workers.”

Without such a law, low-wage companies with less-skilled workers could end up with public-works contracts, Pekios said.

“I have a highly trained crew. I couldn’t keep these guys if I didn’t pay prevailing wage,” he said.

Less-skilled workers will drive up the cost of projects because the work will take longer to complete and require more supervision, Pekios said.

McGuire, the local laborers union business manager, said he hopes the Senate will preserve the prevailing-wage law and “not do a total repeal.”

mbliss@semissourian.com

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