I have been quiet for a while but this has me going. Prevailing wages are determined by states. Prevailing wage is supposed to be the "average wage" and some states require it to be paid on any job where all, or part, of the money is from public funds. In Illinois it is county by county, and it is set monthly by the director of the Department of Labor. While it is supposed to be the "average wage" it is just the union wage in disguise. What prevailing wage laws do, in my opinion, is make sure that the cost of any public job in the state is as high as it can possibly be. No company that I have ever heard of pays higher than union wage, but many, if not the majority, pay less. By forcing companies to pay (and of course charge more) for publicly funded jobs these laws guarantee without a doubt that we, the taxpayers, pay more. The prevailing wage for electricians in Illinois, including benefits, (which must be paid also) is over $48.00 in the northern part of the state. I am sad that the public does not realise that they are paying more than they have to. Wouldn't it be strange for a big corporation to say that they will not buy something unless they are charged at the absolute highest price that is paid anywhere for it? The governor of Illinois is threatening to go to Canada to buy drugs for state workers because they are cheaper there and the state can save a ton of money (and lose jobs in pharmacies and related businesses). Yet the same governor is in favor of prevailing wage laws which insure that the state pays the highest possible price for construction work. I am sure that a lot more dollars are spent on construction than on prescription drugs for state workers. This is not a union/non union question, it is a common sense question about the the wise use of our public funds. Something to think about.
