emphasis on the "little"
Mr. Williams distinguished himself in the mid-1970s through his research on the effects of the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931—which got the government involved in setting wage levels—and on the impact of minimum-wage law on youth and minority unemployment. He concluded that minimum wages caused high rates of teenage unemployment, particularly among minority teenagers. His research also showed that Davis-Bacon, which requires high prevailing (read: union) wages on federally financed or assisted construction projects, was the product of lawmakers with explicitly racist motivations.
when davis-bacon imposes a higher that average "prevailing" (yes, it does mean union) wage rate, do you really think a teenager is going to have an edge over a more experienced worker?
you would have us believe that the south, with the nation's lowest rate of unionization, would politically embrace a program which was beneficial to unions. absurd ... to anyone who chooses to ponder it for more than five seconds. crack a book and find out where and when there was significant labor-management hostility, and compare those dates and times to the foolishness you have presented above
One of Congress's goals at the time was to stop black laborers from displacing whites by working for less money. Missouri Rep. John Cochran said that he had "received numerous complaints in recent months about Southern contractors employing low-paid colored mechanics." And Alabama Rep. Clayton Allgood fretted about contractors with "cheap colored labor . . . of the sort that is in competition with white labor throughout the country."
how is this any different from today's environment where low wage employees have their wage rates depressed only because illegal workers are allowed to displace them on the job
in my state, the republican dominated state government is attempting to ease restrictions on employers who hire illegals
how is your presentation different than the argument that china is displacing our better paying manufacturing jobs with their low-wage labor force?
Today just 17% of construction workers are unionized, but Democratic politicians, in deference to the AFL-CIO, have kept Davis-Bacon in place to protect them. Because most black construction workers aren't union members, ...
by your own post we see that most WHITE construction workers are not unionized
you pretend to make a point when you do not
... however, the law has the effect of freezing them [black construction workers] out of jobs.
notably, davis-bacon was passed in the depression [1932]
that date/era is significant because it predated equal rights legislation for blacks by 30+ years
in 1932 EVERTHING served to freeze blacks out of good jobs. DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on on a federal work site today who thinks the department of labor would tolerate any inkling of racial employment discrimination at federally funded construction projects these days?
only a white hooded conspiracy theorist would accept that such discrimination is remotely possible at the federal workplace today
It also serves to significantly increase the costs of government projects, ...
yes it does. if tuse it predated iscriminatiany inkling of racial employment duse it predated i am paying my construction workers $20 per hour and no benefits on civilian projects, and the "prevailing"/union rate is $25 per hour with medical and vacation benefits, how would that contractor be able to bring in a federal project at civilian work rates? so, you finally got something right in your post
... since there are fewer contractors to bid on them than there would be without Davis-Bacon.
unfortunately, you got this wrong. VERY wrong
EVERY contractor must bid at
least the "prevailing" rate for each labor category. effectively, every bidder knows the minimum rates that each other project bidder is forced to bid under davis-bacon
that gives each bidder information they do not have when pricing civilian construction projects
there is NOTHING about davis-bacon which excludes ANY prospective contractor from bidding
davis-bacon does NOTHING to diminish the pool of contractors
it is admittedly a nuanced outcome, but davis-bacon actually enhances innovation in the construction sector
since ever potential project awardee must pay the same wage rate - or higher, at their discretion - the winning bidder is often the one who figures out how to accomplish the statement of work with the fewest labor hours billed