WASHINGTON, March 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Laborers' International Union is working vigorously for reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, expected to face a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday. The union, with a half-million members predominantly in the construction industry, is also working to ensure that the billions in funding to preserve the nation's waterways is not used as a piecemeal repeal of family-supporting Davis-Bacon provisions. Davis-Bacon provisions require a wage and benefit floor based on a community's prevailing wages and help prevent contractors for federally- financed projects from undercutting local wage standards. While Davis-Bacon wage rates are almost always less than rates paid to union workers, they do prevent federal projects from driving down local standards. Some industry groups which want to see lower wages and fewer benefits for workers have long attempted to dismantle Davis-Bacon piece-by-piece by arguing the technicalities of funding sources. With the Clean Water Act, some groups are again arguing that because reauthorization will include funding from State Revolving Funds, the act should not apply. Yet, members of Congress from both political parties have historically supported applying family-supporting Davis-Bacon provisions when creative funding sources are used for federal projects. Mostly recently, Congress applied Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements to both initial and subsequent rounds of financial assistance provided by five State Infrastructure Banks - a financing method similar to State Revolving Funds - in the 1998 TEA-21 highway authorization bill its extension in the 2005 SAFETEA-LU highway authorization bill. In fact, the 13-year delay in reauthorizing the Clean Water Act itself was motivated in part by those who wanted to block workers on clean water projects from receiving fair wages under Davis-Bacon. "Davis-Bacon has long helped working families support themselves and their families and helped maintain local community economic standards," Laborers' Union General President Terence M. O'Sullivan said. "Congress should reject these backdoor piece-meal attempts to dismantle this family-supporting law."
