Prevailing wage is a way for unions to remain competitive on public projects.  They can probably cut their labor costs in half producing bids that are consistently 25% lower than mine. Constructonomics A construction industry blog that digs below bedrock Comments Entries Home About Recent Posts Social Media: Do We Really Need-i-ya? Building Teams First – Buildings Next Vote For The Best Construction Blog Where are we headin’ in 2011? While I have complained constantly about the process, I probably wouldn’t have any work at all at the moment if they were not available.  MORE >>

You separate the employees into categories:  electrician, plumber, helper/laborer…   Sounds easy enough, right?  While you may make a distinction in your everyday business, that distinction may not be the same as the US Department of Labor or the state agency controlling your project.   And from first hand experience, I can tell you that agencies like the US Department of Labor are currently interpreting these requirements very pro-laborer. Department of Labor.   We forget that the law is the rule for simple and untaught people to live by.  Wrong. MORE >>

The attorney general's office sued the company in March, claiming that the company engaged in unfair competition and violated state labor laws. Weldon Offill said Wednesday that the lawsuit "was a big union deal," but declined further comment. Paul Cohen, spokesman for the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council in Oakland, said the union is "very pleased that workers will get the wage they are entitled to.". A Livermore construction company that has built housing for university students and low-income residents has agreed to pay $3.9 Country Builders Inc. MORE >>

Here in the Mojave Desert, a dice throw away from the Nevada border, giant road graders and a small army of laborers began turning the dirt for BrightSource Energy’s $2 billion Ivanpah project, the first large-scale solar thermal power plant to be built in the United States in two decades. During its three years of construction, Ivanpah will employ as many as 1,000 laborers in a recession-scarred region. Reform Skool Plastics Benjamin Plastics Women's History Month Indoor Gardening Blue Jeans That Fit Union Busting Out All Over Need a Boost? Uwe T. TLC Contest! MORE >>

But in reality much of this could easily be negated by increasing transparency when it comes to salary, looking to unions as a way of negotiation (always the most effective in both gender and equality across the board) and simply the need for women to mentor and support one another. Try to re-examine some of these roles and think about how new divisions of household labor may help each partner’s situation at work, Ms. knew as someone who elected to pursue non-traditional or mainstream employment my income would reflect that choice. Good to know it falls to the obvious. Yikes. MORE >>