Author Archives: Smart Cities Prevail

Study: Housing Workforce Shortage Is Barrier to Affordability

OAKLAND, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- According to California's Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), the golden state must dramatically increase the productive capacity of its residential construction sector in order to create enough new housing to improve affordability. However, new research released today by Smart Cities Prevail shows the industry has failed to make the investments necessary to compete for the more than 200,000 new workers necessary to meet this ambitious goal.

Click here to read the report Rebuilding California: The Golden State's Housing Workforce Reckoning (PDF): https://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SCP_HousingReport.0107.pdf

Click here to read the executive summary of the report (PDF): https://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SCP_EXEC.summary_0110.pdf

"The data shows residential construction work is more dangerous, economically risky, and lower paying than most other jobs in our economy," said study author Scott Littlehale. "When you consider these dynamics alongside the industry's aging workforce, its failure to institutionalize investments in apprenticeship training, and a shrinking supply of young workers and immigrants, it is clear why the housing sector is struggling to attract the new workers it needs."

While construction jobs require longer commutes, more flexibility in work hours, and far higher risk of workplace injury and death than other jobs, Littlehale found residential construction workers earn 24 percent less per year than all other jobs on average, and less than half have health insurance coverage through their employer. Wage theft in the industry has grown by 400 percent since 1972. When adjusted for cost of living, California's median construction wage ranks 46th in the United States.

Compounding the problem, Littlehale found, is that the labor pool on which residential construction firms have relied since the 1980s is shrinking. California's stock of young male workers without a college degree has fallen since 2005, and its supply of non-naturalized immigrants has decreased by almost 350,000 between 2005 and 2016.

"Because of its decades-long reliance on a lower-wage, lower skilled workforce, California's housing construction industry finds itself ill-equipped to compete in today's labor market," Littlehale added. "Considering the inherent physical dangers and economic volatility, the work simply does not pay enough to lure workers away from other states or other industries."

While construction requires substantially more pre-employment training than most other jobs, Littlehale notes the residential construction industry has largely avoided institutionalized investments in apprenticeship. The few programs that are offered are managed only by employers and funded on a "voluntary" basis-and produce 90 percent fewer workers than "joint labor-management" programs financed through collective bargaining agreements and prevailing wage laws.

"Housing contractors have no real incentive to invest in training programs that would attach a more stable supply of skilled labor to the industry unless their competitors are doing it too," Littlehale said. "As a result, the industry lacks a training pipeline capable of attaching an adequate supply of skilled workers to residential construction careers."

The housing industry last produced new housing on the scale called for by HCD in the 1970s and 1980s. This was also a period when more residential construction workers were covered by collective bargaining agreements mandating competitive wage levels, fringe benefits, and apprenticeship training standards. But data shows that since then, productivity per unit of labor in construction has been declining, even as it has grown by more than 30 percent on average in other economic sectors.

"As the industry moved away from arrangements that were able to attract, retain and re-supply the industry's stock of skilled labor, it has generally relied on a large number of low wage workers to meet increased production demands," Littlehale observed. "That option no longer exists, so housing contractors need a strategy to attract and retain more skilled workers."

Though the housing sector has focused on regulatory reforms to accelerate approvals of new construction, Littlehale believes such changes are unlikely to affect the industry's overall productivity without addressing the shrinking labor pool and lagging productivity.

"Ultimately, housing builders' reservoir of low-wage, less-skilled labor is not refilling itself," Littlehale concluded. "The industry should consider labor-management cooperation measures like prevailing wage and collective bargaining agreements because they are consistently associated with higher wages, increased apprenticeship enrollment, more production efficiency, and fewer workplace safety problems. By improving labor market competitiveness, wider utilization of these workforce development arrangements would help restore California residential building to the production engine it once was."

Scott Littlehale has authored numerous studies on the U.S. political economy, labor related public policy and the construction industry since 1993. He served on the technical committee of CASA - The Committee to House the Bay Area - between 2017 and 2018. Follow him on Twitter.

Smart Cities Prevail is a leading national non-profit research and education organization focused on the construction industry. Learn more at https://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/, or by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Twitter: @CaCitiesPrevail @FactChecker23 #workforcestudy #constructionjobs

According to California's Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), the golden state must dramatically increase the productive capacity of its residential construction sector in order to create enough new housing to improve affordability. However, new research released today by Smart Cities Prevail shows the industry has failed to make the investments necessary to compete for the more than 200,000 new workers necessary to meet this ambitious goal.

Related link: https://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/

Smart Cities Prevail Launches Multi-State Campaign On Prevailing Wage Laws

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- Smart Cities Prevail today released a series of new TV advertisements on prevailing wage laws, part of a multi-state public information campaign launching in California and New Mexico.

View the ads: "HT Tran" (https://youtu.be/wdkC_ycI_ec) and "Rebuilding America" (https://youtu.be/n97-XWdayAk).

"HT Tran" tells the story of an Iraq War veteran who came home after being wounded in combat to found the award winning general engineering firm Anvil Builders.

"I wouldn't be alive today if all the guys I served with took shortcuts," Tran says. "Taking care of workers doing dangerous and difficult jobs here at home is no different than taking care of soldiers in the army. Prevailing wage is an investment in well-trained local professionals who know how to get the job done right the first time."

Research has shown that prevailing wage laws disproportionately impact veterans, because they work in construction at higher rates than non-veterans.

"Rebuilding America" highlights the important role that prevailing wage laws play in promoting local hiring and higher quality workmanship on schools, roads and other public projects. Research consistently shows that prevailing wage laws improve the economy and help generate more local middle-class jobs without increasing overall project costs.

"While the well documented economic and community benefits of prevailing wage have been long-validated by respected economists and earned these laws broad bi-partisan support, they are often not well understood by the public at large," said Smart Cities Prevail spokesman Todd Stenhouse. "This campaign isn't just about facts and figures - it's about telling the story of what is at stake and who is really impacted by these laws. More often than not, it's you or someone you know."

Established in the 1930's, prevailing wage laws establish the local market minimum wage on different types of skilled construction work. Typically, the wage includes a base wage, benefits and training contributions - based on surveys of workers performing similar jobs in the community.

In conjunction with the release of the new ad campaign, Smart Cities Prevail has also published resource documents on the impact of prevailing wage laws in New Mexico and California. These studies chronicle the impact of the laws on everything from construction costs to job creation, overall economic output and welfare reliance.

"Reams of peer reviewed data have conclusively shown that when it comes to controlling costs, creating jobs, strengthening the economy and building projects that stand the test of time, prevailing wage offers the best value for taxpayers," Stenhouse concluded.

Smart Cities Prevail is a leading construction industry research and advocacy organization, focused on contracting and labor standards.

More information on us may be found at https://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/ - or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

*PDF LINK: "The Impact of Prevailing Wage Laws on Military Veterans: AN ECONOMIC AND LABOR MARKET ANALYSIS." https://b.3cdn.net/votevets/62350ae9afd6c4c714_0jm6bsc5b.pdf

VIDEO (YouTube):
https://youtu.be/n97-XWdayAk

Smart Cities Prevail today released a series of new TV advertisements on prevailing wage laws, part of a multi-state public information campaign launching in California and New Mexico. "HT Tran" tells the story of an Iraq War veteran who came home after being wounded in combat to found the award winning general engineering firm Anvil Builders.

Related link: https://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/

Open Letter from City Leaders Calls for Prevailing Wages in State Housing Reforms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- In an open letter that ran as a full page ad in today's Sacramento Bee, elected leaders from six of California's eight largest cities called on California Governor Jerry Brown and the State Legislature to include prevailing wage standards in state housing reforms. The ad was paid for by Smart Cities Prevail (SCP).

The Legislature is currently considering a range of proposals aimed at combating California's persistent housing affordability crisis.

Click Here to View the Ad (PDF): http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2017/05/SacBeeAd.pdf.

Smart Cities Prevail (SCP) is a non-profit research organization that focuses on wage policies and contracting standards in the construction industry. The ad was signed by a group of local elected officials from the cities of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento.

The ad references ongoing efforts to streamline more housing development - with several proposals under consideration to combat California's persistent housing affordability crisis again this year.

"Real housing reform needs to do more than simply streamline more development," the leaders write. "We need to promote investment in the people who are doing the building, and struggling to pay the rent in our communities."

The ad highlights findings from a new SCP study entitled, "The Value of Linking Good Construction Jobs to California's Housing Reforms (http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2017/03/SCP_HousingReport.0314.pdf)."

Utilizing Economic Census data and industry standard data analysis, this study highlights how a variety of factors are contributing to California's housing affordability crisis-including significant increases in profits for developers and builders, shrinking wages for blue-collar construction workers, and declining productivity for the construction industry as a whole. It concludes that including prevailing wage standards in state housing reforms would help the industry attract and develop the skills needed to boost housing supply, while also helping to close the affordability gap for working families, reducing racial disparities in pay, and saving taxpayers tens of millions of dollars per year by reducing reliance on public assistance.

"With real blue-collar construction wages down 25 percent over the last two decades, the suggestion that labor costs hinder the construction of more housing supply is simply not supported by the facts or the financial realities of the industry," said study author Alex Lantsberg. "With housing prices and profits soaring, the industry is well positioned to invest in productivity and affordability for its own workforce. We can make good progress towards both objectives by incorporating prevailing wage standards into state housing reforms."

Smart Cities Prevail has also posted today's open letter online. Members of the public who want to lend their voice in support of including prevailing wage in state housing reforms can do so at: http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/housingpetition/.

Smart Cities Prevail is a leading national non-profit research and education organization focused on the construction industry. Learn more at http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org, or by following us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SmartCitiesPrevail) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/cacitiesprevail).

MEDIA CONTACT:
Todd Stenhouse
(916) 397-1131
toddstenhouse@gmail.com

In an open letter that ran as a full page ad in today's Sacramento Bee, elected leaders from six of California's eight largest cities called on California Governor Jerry Brown and the State Legislature to include prevailing wage standards in state housing reforms. The ad was paid for by Smart Cities Prevail (SCP).

STUDY: Linking Prevailing Wage Standards with Housing Reforms Would Close Affordability Gap and Save Taxpayer Dollars

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- A brand new study by construction industry research non-profit Smart Cities Prevail shows that linking prevailing wage standards with proposed reforms to streamline new housing development would close the affordability gap, save state and local governments tens of millions of dollars annually, and disproportionately benefit communities of color.

Read the study entitled "The Value of Linking Good Construction Jobs to California's Housing Reforms" here (PDF): http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2017/03/SCP_HousingReport.0314.pdf.

Overall, the study notes that it takes 13 percent more workers today to match the residential housing output that California enjoyed just twenty years ago. This steep decline in productivity has been matched by a 25 percent decline in inflation-adjusted blue-collar construction wages (the median wage is just $35,000 per year) and housing prices that have soared as high as 54 percent in the Bay Area.

"A productivity renaissance will be necessary to produce housing units in the numbers that will noticeably shave what Californians pay for housing," said study author Alex Lantsberg. "Studies have repeatedly shown that the best way to realize that goal is by incorporating prevailing wage standards."

Prevailing wage is a minimum wage for blue-collar construction work that reflects local market rates for different skilled crafts. Long associated with stronger economic outcomes and more local hiring, most research shows that prevailing wages have no significant impact on total project costs because they promote higher skilled craftsmanship.

This triggers increases in productivity and efficiency as high as 15 percent, reduced reliance on taxpayer funded public assistance programs, and prevents workforce shortages by helping to fund the apprenticeship programs that are used to meet California's construction workforce training needs.

Using industry standard economic impact analysis, the study notes that if California's multi-family residential construction industry resembled the rest of the construction industry on wage standards, it would:

* Increase incomes of blue-collar workers by more than $1 billion.
* Boost state and local tax revenues by at least $55 million.
* Save taxpayers at least $30 million on public assistance expenditures.

"Fully 40 percent of California's blue-collar construction workers now qualify for taxpayer subsidized housing and these workers are mostly people of color," Lantsberg added. "It's clear that failing to incorporate prevailing wages into reforms that streamline housing development will only exacerbate the affordability gap for the workers who build these units - particularly in high cost coastal communities."

With the Affordable Care Act facing an uncertain future, Lantsberg's analysis shows that 38 percent of full-time, blue-collar construction workers currently have no health care coverage and their Medicaid reliance is twice the national average for non-supervisory production workers.

According to Economic Census data, California's 2014 Affordable Housing Cost Study and other federal data sources, construction wages and benefits comprise just 15 percent of total residential housing costs-substantially less than contractor earnings and developer fees (18 percent), and less than half the cost share of equipment, materials, fuels and purchased services (34 percent).

Importantly, Lantsberg notes that neither labor costs nor materials have driven the increase in California's housing prices. Since 1992 the construction industry's gross operating surplus, or profits, have increased 50 percent more than either materials or construction labor.

"The suggestion that labor costs hinder the construction of more housing supply is simply not supported by the facts or the financial realities of the industry. With housing prices and profits soaring, the industry is well positioned to invest in productivity and affordability for its own workforce. We can make good progress towards both objectives by incorporating prevailing wage standards into a housing development streamlining package."

Alex Lantsberg, MCP, AICP is a Research Analyst with Smart Cities Prevail, a leading construction industry research and education organization. Alex holds a Masters of City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley and was admitted to the American Institute of City Planning in 2013. Lantsberg has co-authored numerous economic impact studies, including research analyzing the economic impact of prevailing wage laws in California and across the country, the public costs of wage and benefit restructuring and the economic impact of minimum wage.

Smart Cities Prevail is a leading national non-profit research and education organization focused on the construction industry.

Learn more at http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/ or by following us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmartCitiesPrevail - or Twitter: https://twitter.com/cacitiesprevail.

Paid for by Smart Cities Prevail, PO Box 348766 Sacramento, CA 95834-8766.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Todd Stenhouse
(916) 397-1131
toddstenhouse@gmail.com

A brand new study by construction industry research non-profit Smart Cities Prevail shows that linking prevailing wage standards with proposed reforms to streamline new housing development would close the affordability gap, save state and local governments tens of millions of dollars annually, and disproportionately benefit communities of color.

First of Its Kind National Study Examines Economic, Social, and Fiscal Impacts of State Prevailing Wage Laws

CHICAGO, Ill., Feb. 9, 2016 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- As policy debates rage in states from Michigan and New Hampshire to New Mexico and West Virginia, researchers from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, Colorado State University-Pueblo, and Smart Cities Prevail have just completed the first ever national study on the economic, social, and project cost impacts of state prevailing wage laws.

Prevailing wage laws govern the wage rates paid to construction workers on government-funded public works projects.

The Report, entitled "The Economic, Fiscal, and Social Impacts of State Prevailing Wage Laws: Choosing Between the High Road and the Low Road in the Construction Industry," utilizes industry standard IMPLAN modeling software and industry comparisons between states with and without prevailing wage laws to assess the impact of these policies on a variety of economic and social factors: including job creation, wages, worksite productivity, rates of in-state contracting, impacts on taxpayers, reliance on government assistance programs, and effects on communities of color and veterans.

A Fact Sheet Summarizing the Report's Findings May be Found Here: http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Report-Fact-Sheet-for-the-Impacts-of-State-Prevailing-Wage-Laws.2016FINAL.pdf .

The Full Report May be Downloaded Here: http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/PW-national-impact-study-FINAL2.9.16.pdf .

"Our study confirms that states without prevailing wage laws not only undermine workmanship, productivity, and workforce development programs that promote construction career pathways for racial minorities and veterans, but millions more is spent in these states on food stamps, EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit), and public forms of insurance for low income blue-collar construction workers, with smaller overall economic output, higher income inequality, and millions less in tax revenue," said study co-author and Colorado State University Economist Kevin Duncan. "If all the states with prevailing wage laws in place were to repeal, they could expect to see similar trends, with 400,000 lost jobs, a $65 billion reduction in our national economy, and a loss of $8 billion in tax revenue."

The report also examines - for the first time - the existing body of research that has been presented on both sides of the issue related to the impact of prevailing wage policies on overall project costs. In doing so, it makes an important distinction between research that has undergone peer review, and that which has not, concluding that 75 percent of recent peer-reviewed studies find that construction costs are not affected by prevailing wages.

"Our research shows that the debate around the cost impact of prevailing wage policies, in many ways, mirrors the debate on policy questions like climate change - where some policy makers rely on ideological bias or an incomplete understanding of an industry to promote conclusions that are simply not supported by academic consensus," said study co-author Alex Lantsberg. "We found that the non-peer reviewed studies that suggest cost savings from prevailing wage repeal tend to focus exclusively on wage differences, which ignore the fact that prevailing wage standards dramatically reduce material and fuel expenditures and reliance on taxpayer-funded welfare assistance, while increasing worksite productivity."

This study follows individual, peer-reviewed state analyses that Duncan, Lantsberg, and Manzo completed last year amidst state battles over construction wage policies in Wisconsin, Michigan, and California.

While Wisconsin voted to severely weaken its prevailing wage standard, California moved to strengthen its laws and a citizen petition to force a repeal in Michigan failed. Proponents of repeal in Michigan have vowed to mount a similar petition drive again in 2016.

"In many ways, our research shows why state-level prevailing wage standards were first introduced by Republicans, and have long enjoyed bi-partisan support from leaders as ideologically diverse as California Governor Jerry Brown and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan," added study co-author Frank Manzo IV. "To be sure, there are financially motivated interests on both sides of this issue, but the facts clearly argue for prevailing wage policies as the best bet for taxpayers, workers, businesses, and the economy as a whole."

The Illinois Economic Policy Institute is a non-partisan research and education nonprofit focused on issues affecting Illinois and the Midwest, including infrastructure investment and the construction industry. Learn more at http://illinoisepi.org/ or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/IllinoisEPI.

Smart Cities Prevail is a leading construction industry research and educational organization, specializing in studying the costs and benefits of prevailing wage policies. Learn more at http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/ - or follow us on https://www.facebook.com/SmartCitiesPrevail and https://twitter.com/cacitiesprevail.

Dr. Kevin Duncan, Ph.D. is a Professor of Economics in the Hasan School of Business at Colorado State University - Pueblo and Senior Economist at BCD Economics, LLC. Over the last 30 years, Duncan has become one of the nation's foremost experts on the impact of prevailing wage policies, testifying before numerous legislative committees, advising government agencies, and publishing dozens of peer reviewed studies and over 40 public policy papers on the subject.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Todd Stenhouse
toddstenhouse@gmail.com

Twitter: @CAcitiesprevail @IllinoisEPI

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NEWS SOURCE Smart Cities Prevail :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2016 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.

New Study: Michigan Prevailing Wage Repeal Will Kill Jobs and Hamper Economy

LANSING, Mich., June 29, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Just completed research by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute, Colorado State University Economist Kevin Duncan and Smart Cities Prevail - a leading construction industry research organization - has revealed that Michigan's proposed prevailing wage repeal would eliminate more than 11,000 jobs, $1.7 billion in economic output, $28 million in local and state tax revenue, and will export nearly $700 million in construction investments out of state every year.

The report, entitled "The Cost of Repealing Michigan's Prevailing Wage Policy: Impacts on Total Construction Costs and Economic Activity," can be downloaded here (PDF): http://goo.gl/SIfCGc.

The study uses a growing body of peer reviewed research, data from the Economic Census of Construction, and industry standard IMPLAN software to analyze the impact of prevailing wage standards on overall project costs and model the economic impact of spending shifts that would result from repeal of Michigan's prevailing wage law. These spending shifts ultimately impact job creation, as well as local and state tax revenue and rates of in-state contracting.

"Comparing data from prevailing wage and non-prevailing wage states shows repeal of the standard in Michigan will be a bad bargain for taxpayers," said study co-author Frank Manzo of the Midwest Economic Policy Institute. "There are no savings because reductions in construction wages are offset by decreases in workforce productivity, less worksite efficiency, and increased spending on energy and materials."

The study also demonstrates a significant economic "ripple effect" that would result from repeal. Not just from lower wages and less spending by Michigan's construction workers, but also because non-prevailing wage states utilize more out-of-state contractors.

"Every sector of the economy would feel the impact of prevailing wage repeal," said study Co-Author and Colorado State University Economist Kevin Duncan. "This would be a self-inflicted wound that suppresses economic activity, exports hundreds of millions of construction dollars out of state, and puts thousands of people out of work."

Dr. Duncan noted that these impacts would ultimately create additional burdens for state and local government, and by extension, Michigan's taxpayers.

"Less economic activity and fewer people working for lower wages translates to more reliance on public assistance programs and lower tax revenues," Duncan added. "There are only two ways to close that gap-raising taxes or making even deeper cuts to vital public services."

This is the third prevailing wage economic impact study in as many months that Dr. Duncan has co-authored, along with Smart Cities Prevail Researcher Alex Lantsberg.

"There is a reason why prevailing wage policies have stood the test of time and have long been embraced by leaders in both political parties-including Michigan's Republican Governor Rick Snyder," added Lantsberg. "Our goal is to ensure that voters and policy makers have the facts they need to make informed decisions that reflect the best interests of taxpayers and the economy as a whole-and our research shows that repeal of prevailing wage falls far short of that standard."

Recent polling shows that Michigan's prevailing wage law is supported by 60% of voters, including a majority of Democrats and Independents and a plurality of Republicans.

Frank Manzo IV, MPP is the Policy Director of the Midwest Economic Policy Institute, a division of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute.

Kevin Duncan, Ph.D. is a Professor of Economics in the Hasan School of Business at Colorado State University - Pueblo and Senior Economist at BCD Economics, LLC.

Alex Lantsberg, MCP, AICP is a Researcher with Smart Cities Prevail and a member of the American Institute for City Planning.

The Midwest Economic Policy Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan research and education organization focused on issues affecting Midwestern economies, including infrastructure investment and the construction industry. Learn more at http://illinoisepi.org/midwest-economic-policy-institute/.

Smart Cities Prevail is a leading construction industry research and educational organization, specializing in studying the costs and benefits of prevailing wage policies. Learn more at http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/.

Twitter: @CaCitiesPrevail

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/new-study-michigan-prevailing-wage-repeal-will-kill-jobs-and-hamper-economy-2015-0629-02.shtml.

NEWS SOURCE Smart Cities Prevail :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2015 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.

New Research Exposes Folly of Wisconsin’s Prevailing Wage Repeal Proposal

MADISON, Wis., June 2, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Just completed research by Colorado State University Economist Kevin Duncan and Smart Cities Prevail Researcher Alex Lantsberg reveals that Wisconsin's proposed prevailing wage repeal (AB 32) will cost the state nearly 9,000 jobs, $1.2 billion in economic output, $77 million in tax revenue, and will export an estimated $500 million in construction investments out of state.

The report, entitled "How Weakening Wisconsin's Prevailing Wage Policy Would Affect Public Construction Costs and Economic Activity," is the latest in a series of studies completed by Duncan and Lantsberg that model the effect of prevailing wage policy changes on the economies and construction industries of states where such changes are under consideration.

Read the Economic Impact Report on Repeal of Wisconsin's Prevailing Wage Policy Here (PDF): http://goo.gl/4LjeiS.

Wisconsin's proposed prevailing wage repeal, AB 32, passed out of the Assembly Labor Committee last week, and Governor Scott Walker - who is also widely expected to formally launch a bid for the Presidency in 2016 - has said he will sign the measure.

"There is a lot of misinformation out there, and up until now, study of the economic impact of these policy changes has been scarce," Duncan said. "There is a reason why prevailing wage policies have long been embraced by leaders in both political parties - including Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and neighboring GOP Governor Rick Snyder - and our goal is to ensure that policy makers have the facts they need to cut through the overheated political rhetoric and make informed decisions."

The study uses data from the Economic Census of Construction and industry standard IMPLAN software to compare and model spending shifts in public construction that occur in prevailing wage and non-prevailing wage states. Factors include the economic ripple effect that wages have on spending, job creation, and tax revenue; industry responses to wage rates in terms of workforce productivity and worksite efficiency; and rates of in-state vs. out-of-state contracting on public works.

"The data clearly shows that repealing prevailing wage in Wisconsin will have no effect on project costs - but it will eliminate thousands of jobs across all economic sectors, suppress economic output, necessitate millions in cuts to other public services, lead to reduced productivity and efficiency at the job site, and export hundreds of millions of construction dollars out of state," said Lantsberg. "Repeal is not sound economic policy, and the only taxpayers AB 32 will benefit are those who live in states other than Wisconsin."

In their research, Lantsberg and Duncan devote an entire section to debunking the myth of cost savings by repeal proponents, noting that lower wage standards will deprive Wisconsin of favorable industry responses from prevailing wage standards. In Wisconsin's case, this includes a 7 percent increase in worksite productivity and 2 percent reduction in materials and fuels usage rates that come from employing higher skilled, local workers.

"These factors would, by themselves, more than exhaust any savings realized from imposing lower wages - especially since labor (wages and benefits) comprise less than 20 percent of the total cost of any public construction project," Duncan added. "Ultimately, over ten years, this measure will not save money, but it will reduce real income to Wisconsin families by $5.1 billion, shrink Wisconsin's economy by another $12 billion, and degrade the quality of construction on highways, schools, hospitals, and other public works. The facts are clear-repeal of prevailing wage in Wisconsin is just bad policy."

Kevin Duncan, Ph.D. is a nationally recognized economist specializing in labor and regional economics. Dr. Duncan works as a Professor of Economics in the Hasan School of Business at Colorado State University - Pueblo and Senior Economist at BCD Economics, LLC.

Alex Lantsberg is a researcher with Smart Cities Prevail specializing in economics, land use, and urban planning. Mr. Lantsberg holds a Master's Degree in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley and an undergraduate degree in finance from Northern Illinois University.

Smart Cities Prevail is a leading construction industry research and educational organization, specializing in studying the costs and benefits of prevailing wage policies. Learn more at http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/smartcitiesprevail.

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Twitter: @CaCitiesPrevail

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/new-research-exposes-folly-of-wisconsin-s-prevailing-wage-repeal-proposal-2015-0602-02.shtml.