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Keep Wicks Law to keep out Unscrupulous Contractors! 3/1/2000 Click on the above headline to read an Article wich appeared in the Opinion-Editorial Page of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle March 21, 2000. It is an endless source of amusement to me that labor unions—which have done more to protect workers’ rights and to build America’s middle class than almost any other organization—are constantly singled out as the root cause of every problem. Jay Gallagher’s attack on the Wicks Law (column, Democrat and Chronicle, March 4) seemed like an attempt to move the focus of what is really wrong in New York, and place it on the backs of working families who depend on the construction industry in New York for their livelihoods. In his column, he blamed the Wicks Law for high local taxes—without exploring the abuses and corruption that become rampant without Wicks. We need look no further than the New York City Construction Authority, where the Wicks Law has been circumvented, to see the result: a system rife with corruption. Gallagher implied that construction unions are political heavyweights who influence legislators with cash without regard to logic or sensitivity. However, he ignores the fact that "Big Business" outspends unions in campaigns 40 to 1. He vilified the current system as removing incentives for lowering construction costs—without examining what actually is the practice on state and municipal building projects, and some very progressive options like project labor agreements that are proven to save costs, while completing projects on time and on budget. While everyone agrees that Wicks limits need some realignment, elimination of the Wicks Law would mean that the process would become rampant with "bid-shopping" whereby qualified, responsible contractors are pushed out by unscrupulous contractors who ignore safety regulations and workers rights to provide the lowest bid. So insidious has this practice become that at least one of the states Gallagher cites as managing perfectly well without Wicks protection—Oregon—has recently passed legislation that not only outlaws "bid-shopping," but provides serious penalties for contractors who fail to pay subcontractors. New York State could take a lesson from their book. In addition, Gallagher’s allegation that the Wicks Law drives up construction costs 20 percent to 30 percent is not based on fact. Construction projects have set budgets within which all bids must fall. The fact is that most Wicks Law or "prime contracts" come in at 5 percent or 8 percent below the projected budget. And, many bid packages not covered by Wicks provisions are bid out as prime contracts to essentially eliminate the middle man. Many large local constructions managers in Rochester prefer this method as a way to get the best possible price and have direct accountability from construction contractors. Wicks Law protections were put in place to protect honest contractors from contractors who will break the law and abuse their workers in order to make a profit. It’s time that we look at labor unions for what they are—simple working people who have joined together to protect their basic right of collective bargaining. Unions promote safety more than any other group in the industry. Construction unions train more craftsworkers than any other institution in America (over 150,000 hours of instruction last year in Rochester alone!). Union construction workers enjoy decent health benefits, pensions and wages—30 percent higher on average than their non-union counterparts. Unions built the middle class in this country and constructions unions are still building New York State for working families. Behan is president of the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council. |
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