The Michigan Court of Appeals decision on May 28th reinstating Lansing's prevailing wage ordinance will be reviewed carefully and most likely appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, says Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), which challenged the ordinance in 2012.  

"We strongly disagree with the Michigan Court of Appeals decision in Associated Builders and Contractors v. City of Lansing and find it to be a bad ruling," said ABC of Michigan president Chris Fisher.

A strong dissent, authored by Judge David Sawyer, took the majority to task for rejecting legal precedent from the Michigan Supreme Court. "It is not for us to reject the continued validity of [the Supreme Court case]," wrote Sawyer. "It is for the [City of Lansing] to persuade the Supreme Court do so.'" 

Sign the petition to repeal Prevailing Wage!

"We believe a solid case can now be made for this issue to be settled by the Michigan Supreme Court in light of conflicting court decisions around the state, including two conflicting decisions by the Court of Appeals itself," added Fisher.

There are several other similar ordinances and policies across Michigan that create an inconsistent patchwork of wage rates and rules that differ from locality to locality. The uncertainty this creates has fueled ABC efforts to challenge the authority of local governments to impose prevailing wage or any other wage or benefit requirements.

"Like all so-called prevailing wage schemes, Lansing's ordinance mandates that taxpayers pay artificially high wages on city-backed construction projects, resulting in overall higher costs and reducing money for other vital needs and services," said ABC Greater Michigan Chapter president Jimmy Greene.  "Michigan citizens deserve to have their tax dollars spent wisely, rather than squandered on regulations that hinder job creation." 

Associated Builders and Contractors Greater Michigan Chapter is reaching out to ABC contractor members in an effort to capture best processes and procedures to achieve safety excellence in power tool usage and procurement.

Please a moment to fill out this brief survey. The accumulated information will be collected then shared with participating contractors in an effort to enhance and strengthen all contractor's power tool safety policies and procedures making our industry a safer place to work within and to ensure growth throughout. 

Please complete the survey by June 9th 2014. 

If the link above does not work, you may copy and paste the following link into your internet browser: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TW59YDB

Survey contacts: Rebecca Kaiser or Michelle Revette at the Greater Michigan Chapter.

The persuader rule is designed to work hand-in-glove with the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) proposed "ambush" elections rule, which would dramatically reduce the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place, from a median of around 38 days to as few as 10 days. The proposal also creates privacy concerns by requiring employers to submit their employees' personal contact information, including email addresses and phone numbers, to union organizers. Read more on the "Persuader" rule and "Ambush" rule. 

"The construction workers, the scaffolding, the cranes, the noise - that's music to our ears in the construction industry ... We're seeing more jobs, we're seeing better jobs and we're building again," Fisher said. "We suffered more than most industries did in Michigan and to see folks getting back to work, to see backlogs improving - it's quite a comeback story and we're thrilled to be a part of that."

On careers in the trades:

"These are great careers," Fisher said. "Skilled trades pay more than most other industries - you're going to have a larger paycheck than in other professions and it's in high demand. You could right now do a skilled trade career in Michigan and you're not going to have a hard time finding a job."