Lawmakers in a number of states have made reforming outdated prevailing wage laws a major priority so far in 2015. In the past month, legislators in West Virginia, Nevada and Indiana have advanced legislation that attempts to narrow the types of construction projects affected by prevailing wage, and in some cases, to remove the law entirely. 

During his first State of the State address on Feb. 2, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) called for reforms related to project labor agreements (PLAs) and prevailing wage requirements that will help empower Illinois residents and drive economic growth.

The leader of Philadelphia’s Ironworkers Local 401, Joseph Dougherty, was convicted Jan. 20 on charges of racketeering conspiracy and counts of vandalism and extortion. The court found him guilty of and responsible for the use of arson, intimidation and violence in order to secure jobs for members of the union. The conviction came more than two years after the Quaker Meetinghouse jobsite of longtime ABC member E. Allen Reeves, Inc., of Abington, Pa., was the target of vandalism during the 2012 Christmas holiday causing an estimated $500,000 in damages.

The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to hear ABC’s appeal in a case that could lead to the invalidation of local prevailing wage ordinances throughout the state. The lawsuit seeks to overturn a May 2014 Michigan Court of Appeals ruling, which overturned a previous Ingham County Circuit Court decision that ruled in ABC’s favor. 

Amanda Novak, the human resources manager for ABC member company The Tri-M Group, LLC, testified on behalf of the merit shop construction industry during a field hearing about what employers need from educators and state officials to fix the workforce issues we face. 

In a court ruling Aug. 28, a San Diego, Calif., superior court judge upheld legislation (S.B. 7) that allows the state to limit construction funding to charter cities that do not subject their locally funded projects to prevailing wage requirements, negatively impacting merit shop contractors that complete public projects within those cities and the taxpayers paying the bill for the projects.  

In the July 16 ruling of Merit Construction Alliance v. City of Quincy, the First Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts a controversial city ordinance that forced contractors to “engage in a bona fide apprentice training program" registered with the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards as a condition of bidding for city work.

ABC of Michigan praised the state’s legislature for passing language that will deter public universities from engaging in unionizing activities by requiring neutrality as a part of the 2014/2015 Higher Education budget recommendation which is expected to receive final legislative approval.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued a survey requesting comments from the construction industry on the potential use of a project labor agreement (PLA) for the Defense Logistic Agency Aviation Phase I project in Richmond, Va.

ABC of Michigan May 28 released its intention to carefully review and appeal the decision made by the Michigan Court of Appeals to reinstate Lansing’s prevailing wage ordinance. ABC of Michigan originally challenged the mandate in 2012.