Senate votes to repeal construction wage law

Three years after passing a right to work law, Indiana Republicans Wednesday dealt what could be a final blow to organized labor.

The GOP-controlled state Senate, following House passage in late February, voted 27-22 to repeal Indiana's Common Construction Wage law, the system that for 80 years has set wages on public works projects worth at least $350,000.

The wages are typically in line with what union workers are paid in a community.

Republican Gov. Mike Pence and other repeal supporters say the local boards, made up of people appointed by labor unions and an association of nonunion contractors, set wages for tax-funded projects that are artificially high.

"I'm a strong believer in protecting taxpayers and that's what this bill does," said bill sponsor Sen. Carlin Yoder, R-Middlebury. "We owe it to them and to ourselves to ensure that all of those projects are done with integrity and with sound financial knowledge."

Pence's website says repealing the law would open the door for more competitive bid prices, saving as much as 20 percent from the cost of building projects.​

But such promises are overblown, said Eric Brown, retired business representative for Sheet Metal Workers Local 20 and former president of the St. Joe Valley Building Trades Council.

"To get a 20 percent savings, everybody would have to work for free," Brown said. "I think they're being extremely short-sighted."

Brown joined thousands of labor supporters who traveled to the Statehouse Monday to rally against the bill. On other days, he's watched most of the testimony streamed on the Web, he said.

"Mixing through the crowd I was hearing people who thought we'd get enough Republicans to stop it in the Senate but I didn't personally believe it," Brown said.

The author of the House version, Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, must next decide whether he agrees with the changes made in the Senate. If so, the Senate version will go up for votes by the full House and Senate, and then to Pence's desk. If not, it will go to conference committee.

Democratic South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has spoken against the repeal, has said he was holding out hope that the bill would at least allow cities and counties to continue using the common wage. But such an amendment was voted down in the Senate Tuesday night.

"I'm very disappointed," said Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend. "Indiana is now 38th out of the 50 states in per capita income. This change in law just expedites the race to the bottom."