ABC of Michigan News Releases

A leading construction trade group is supporting an effort to gather petition signatures to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage law, Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan (ABC) announced today. 

“We support this citizen effort to stop tax dollar waste and keep Michigan’s construction economy strong,” said Chris Fisher, president of ABC.  “It’s time to eliminate this outdated law that does little more than unnecessarily increase costs on taxpayer-funded construction projects across the state.   Our school districts, colleges and universities will especially benefit when costs are brought back in line with the private sector standards.”

Noting that nearly every other state in the U.S. has a more competitive policy for determining wages on public construction, builders and contractors say repeal of the old law will help move Michigan forward to enhance its reputation as a place to do business. 

 “Michigan’s prevailing wage law exists only inside of the bubble of state government construction and nowhere else,” he explained in testimony last week.  “The current law requires union agreements to supersede all other standard practices used for all other construction in Michigan, thus boosting costs unnecessarily,” said Fisher, who serves on the PMT board of directors.  

“Every day throughout the broader construction industry, workers across the state put
on hard hats and deliver on-time, quality construction without a prevailing wage mandate,” Fisher explained.  “It’s time for the government sector to keep pace with the modern opportunities that benefit the private sector.”

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