October 27, 2005

More On Davis-Bacon

Pres. Bush's lifting of the Davis-Bacon exemption in Katrina-affected communities was done in part to avoid the political embarrassment of a GOP-sponsored resolution demanding documentation related to the decision from being reported out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee yesterday.

Indeed, the WH announcement yesterday that they would reinstate the prevailing wage protection came on the same day that pro-labor Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) was to bring a measure before the transportation panel that would have had the president hand over to the House "information in his possession relating to contracts for services or construction related to Hurricane Katrina."

Facing likely committee passage and subsequent floor action, the administration reversed its decision, headed off the resolution and spared moderate GOPers on the transportation committee from having to make a choice between their president and their friends in labor.

Posted at 03:48 PM

Comments

The funny thing is the media was full of reports a week or so ago of laborers being paid $15-20 per hour for clean up work. Now, the employers will be able to cut them down to $9, the actual DB required wage for New Orleans.

Bob | 10.27.05 07:09 PM

i know your focus is on politics and you do a great job at it too... however, as a united airlines (now pbgc) pensioner, i would like to suggest that, from time to time, you take a serious look at what corporations in this country are doing to their workers...

oh, yes, it gets some media and blog attention when walmart shoots itself in the foot like they did the other day or when ford announces layoffs or when delphi declares bankruptcy or gm slashes its health-care benefits or the hoo-hah over outsourcing... but the on-going tragedy here cannot be overstated... bankruptcy is being used as the business strategy du jour, a way to neuter unions, lobotomize wages and benefits and dump pensions... the middle class that sprung out of these companies is being systematically destroyed along with all the support structure that made it possible in the first place... the very underpinnings of the middle class american way of life are being wiped out, sometimes overnight... the genocide of the middle class american worker is a huge and largely uncovered story...

example from today's news...

http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/2005/10/here-it-comes-more-bankruptcy-as.html

and, as you know, there's a lot more...

profmarcus | 10.27.05 08:45 PM

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