Repealing Kentucky’s prevailing wage law would weaken the state’s economy, according to a new study.
Eliminating prevailing wage would cause a pay cut for middle-class workers, qualify more workers for public assistance, slash apprenticeship training, and result in more of Kentucky’s tax dollars going to out-of-state or foreign contractors. Veterans, who populate construction trades at a higher rate than non-veterans, would be particularly impacted if Kentucky were to repeal its prevailing wage standards.
DECEMBER 16, 2016
The report was authored by economics professor Kevin Duncan, PhD and Frank Manzo IV, MPP- Policy Director of the Midwest Economic Policy Institute, a division of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute.
Full Report: The Economic, Fiscal, and Social Effects of Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage Law.
Fact Sheet #1: One-page summary of the report.
Fact Sheet #2: One-page summary – version 2.
The preponderance of peer-reviewed economic research finds that prevailing wage laws do not increase construction costs, including three-fourths of all studies over the past two decades. This finding directly disputes the claims of those who advocate for repealing Kentucky’s 76-year-old prevailing wage law. Unfortunately, some prevailing wage opponents are either really bad at math, or they expect the people of Kentucky to work for poverty-level wages.