Politics
One thing that we don't do is insist that you vote a certain way. Our political views are based on a candidate's position on issues that effect working people. We don't look at just Union issues, but all issues that effect working people. We support candidates that support us. It's that simple.
Being a trade worker, you are sometimes voting for a job. We look at issues like Right to Work, Prevailing Wage, and Worker's Compensation. If a candidate has a poor voting record on issues that affect our lives and families, we don't support them. We don't always support Democrats either. What we hope for is that we can educate our members on the issues that affect them. We want you to vote, but we want you to be an educated voter.
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
Do Political Decisions affect You and your income?
The answer is YES! Click here to download the full story
West Virginia has its own prevailing wage law that covers state-funded construction as well as public works projects financed by counties, cities, or other “political subdivisions.”
Prevailing wage laws do not guarantee union rights to workers. “Prevailing” wages and benefits are not, necessarily, the same as union wages and benefits. The vast majority of government-set prevailing wages are based on non-union scales of labor.
However, when governments calculate what wages and conditions “prevail” in an area, union jobs are put into the mix, so that union-won wages and conditions help raise standards for an entire area.
Prevailing wage laws do set the floor for wages, overtime pay, training opportunities, pension plans, health insurance and for other benefits that must be paid to workers on publicly financed jobs.
Most important, they do create an even playing field for union and non-union contractors when they compete for publicly-funded jobs. They do help stabilize construction costs.
And they do help guarantee the quality of construction work.
We must help protect prevailing wage laws. Anti-worker owners, contractors, and politicians are constantly trying to undermine, weaken, avoid, and repeal prevailing wage laws. As union members and as men and women concerned with the standard of living in our communities, we must be constantly vigilant in protecting these laws.
Prevailing wage law protection is a nonpartisan issue. For example, members of both parties have strongly opposed moves to weaken or repeal Davis-Bacon.