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Michigan Uphold Prevailing Wages and Fringe Benefits on State Projects Initiative (2018)
| Michigan Uphold Prevailing Wages and Fringe Benefits on State Projects Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Labor and unions | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Michigan Uphold Prevailing Wages and Fringe Benefits on State Projects Initiative was not on the ballot in Michigan as an indirect initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
The initiative would have enacted almost word-for-word the existing statute that requires prevailing wages and fringe benefits for all state-funded projects. As of 2017, prevailing wages and fringe benefits were the wages and benefits typically provided for a given type of work under collective bargaining and which are often comparable to union wages and benefits. The initiative would have contained an appropriation of $1 million in the 2018-2019 fiscal year for implementation.[1]
The initiative was proposed to counter an initiative to repeal the state law requiring that workers be paid prevailing wages and fringe benefits on state projects. The initiative to repeal the prevailing wage law was indirect, meaning it went to the state legislature. The state legislature approved the initiative.[2]
Under the 2017 prevailing wage law, the state department of labor determined the prevailing wage and benefits required for each type of contractor or mechanic prior to advertising for contract bids. The wages were determined according to wages paid for similar projects in the local jurisdiction "under collective agreements or understandings between bona fide organizations of construction mechanics and their employers." The prevailing wage law was enacted in 1965.[1]
Text of measure
Petition title
The petition language used for circulation was as follows:[1]
| “ | An initiation of legislation to enact the Construction Workers Fair Wage Act, which would require prevailing wages and fringe benefits on state projects; establish the requirements and responsibilities of contracting agents and bidders; and prescribe penalties for violation of the act. If not enacted by the Michigan Legislature in accordance with the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the proposed legislation is to be voted on at the November 6, 2018 General Election.[3] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative is as follows:[1]
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Construction Workers Fair Wage Act." Sec. 2. As used in this act: (a) “Construction mechanic” means a skilled or unskilled mechanic, laborer, worker, helper, assistant, or apprentice working on a state project but shall not include executive, administrative, professional, office, or custodial employees. (b) “Contracting agent” means any officer, school board, board or commission of the state, or a state institution supported in whole or in part by state funds, authorized to enter into a contract for a state project or to perform a state project by the direct employment of labor. (c) “Department” means the department of licensing and regulatory affairs. (d) “Locality” means the county, city, village, township, or school district in which the physical work on a state project is to be performed. (e) “State project” means new construction, alteration, repair, installation, painting, decorating, completion, demolition, conditioning, reconditioning, or improvement of public buildings, schools, works, bridges, highways, or roads authorized by a contracting agent. Sec. 3. Every contract executed between a contracting agent and a successful bidder as contractor and entered into pursuant to advertisement and invitation to bid for a state project which requires or involves the employment of construction mechanics, other than those subject to the jurisdiction of the state civil se ice commission, and which is sponsored or financed in whole or in part by the state shall contain an express term that the rates of wages and fringe benefits to be paid to each class of mechanics by the bidder and all of his subcontractors, shall be not less than the wage and fringe benefit rates prevailing in the locality in which the work is to be performed. Contracts on state projects which contain provisions requiring the payment of prevailing wages as determined by the United States secretary of labor pursuant to the federal Davis-Bacon act (United States code, title 40, section 276a et seq) or which contain minimum wage schedules which are the same as prevailing wages in the locality as determined by collective bargaining agreements or understandings between bona fide organizations of construction mechanics and their employers are exempt from the provisions of this act. Sec. 4. A contracting agent, before advertising for bids on a state project, shall have the department determine the prevailing rates of wages and fringe benefits for all classes of construction mechanics called for in the contract. A schedule of these rates shall be made a part of the specifications for the work to be performed and shall be printed on the bidding forms where the work is to be done by contract. If a contract is not awarded or construction undertaken within 90 days of the date of the department’s determination of prevailing rates of wages and fringe benefits, the department shall make a redetermination before the contract is awarded. Sec. 5. The department shall establish prevailing wages and fringe benefits at the same rate that prevails on projects of a similar character in the locality under collective agreements or understandings between bona fide organizations of construction mechanics and their employers. Such agreements and understandings, to meet the requirements of this section, shall not be controlled in any way by either an employee or employer organization. If the prevailing rates of wages and fringe benefits cannot reasonably and fairly be applied in any locality because no such agreements or understandings exist, the department shall determine the rates and fringe benefits for the same or most similar employment in the nearest and most similar neighboring locality in which such agreements or understandings do exist. The department may hold public hearings in the locality in which the work is to be performed to determine the prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates. All prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates determined under this section shall be filed in the department and made available to the public. Sec. 6. Every contractor and subcontractor shall keep posted on the construction site, in a conspicuous place, a copy of all prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates prescribed in a contract and shall keep an accurate record showing the name and occupation of and the actual wages and benefits paid to each construction mechanic employed by him in connection with said contract. This record shall be available for reasonable inspection by the contracting agent or the department. Sec. 7. The contracting agent, by written notice to the contractor and the sureties of the contractor known to the contracting agent, may terminate the contractor's right to proceed with that part of the contract, for which less than the prevailing rates of wages and fringe benefits have been or will be paid, and may proceed to complete the contract by separate agreement with another contractor or otherwise, and the original contractor and his sureties shall be liable to the contracting agent for any excess costs occasioned thereby. Sec. 8. Any person, firm or corporation or combination thereof, including the officers of any contracting agent, violating the provisions of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor. Sec. 9. The provisions of this act shall not apply to contracts entered into or the bids made before the effective date of this act. Sec. 10. For the 2018-2019 fiscal year, $1,000,000.00 is appropriated from the general fund to the department to implement the provisions of this act. |
Path to the ballot
In Michigan, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitioners have 180 days to collect the required signatures. Signatures older than 180 days at the time of filing are considered invalid. Signatures must be submitted at least 160 days before the general election.
The requirements to get an initiative certified for the ballot in 2018:
- Signatures: 252,523 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The final deadline to submit signatures was May 30, 2018.
An application for the Repeal Prevailing Wages and Fringe Benefits on State Projects Initiative was filed with the secretary of state's office on November 27, 2017. The Board of State Canvassers approved the petition for signature gathering on December 7, 2017.[4] No signatures were filed.
See also
- 2018 ballot measures
- Michigan 2018 ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Michigan
- Labor and unions on the ballot
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Michigan Secretary of State, "Protect Michigan Jobs Initiative," December 7, 2017
- ↑ Associated Press, "Petitions turned in to repeal Michigan prevailing wage law," November 3, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Statewide Ballot Proposals: Status and Full Text," December 7, 2017
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State of Michigan Lansing (capital) |
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