Prevailing wage legislation continues to be a hot topic in Pittsburgh. Since the Mayor vetoed Council’s passed bill on December 31st, both he and Council have introduced competing versions of the prevailing wage ordinance. The Mayor, buckling under pressure from union leaders, will introduce a bill that appears to be more business friendly and makes its effective date contingent on Allegheny County passing similar legislation. The Mayor must have figured County’s passage was a long shot-but he appears to be wrong.
County Council is working on introducing their own version which would cover any food and building service workers employed at any County building or County-subsidized project. Their wages will be determined not by the market, but by local averages for similar positions or set by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor. This would also include any benefits and leave time.
At a time when the nation and region are struggling to emerge from the recession, neither the City nor County needs to be interfering in the market place. Obviously they haven’t learned from their past meddling. The high taxes imposed on businesses in the City and County begat subsidies to retain current or attract new ones. This strategy failed miserably as area job growth was sluggish at best while most of the rest of the nation prospered.
Now officials are upset that businesses who took the subsidies are not paying what they, and their union collaborators, deem to be sufficient wages. So naturally they propose to mandate wages, which is nothing more than another tax on businesses. Elected leaders from the City and County refuse to learn that imposing taxes and mandates on people and businesses only serves to drive them away.
