Columbus councilmember wants to boost construction wages

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus councilmember is proposing a requirement for private projects receiving large city investment to pay construction workers the state’s prevailing wage.

"This is an issue that, you know, now is the time for us to take up given how much construction activity is happening in the city and how much of that activity is in fact being subsidized by the taxpayers," Columbus City Council President Pro Tempore Rob Dorans said.

Dorans said it's all in an effort to ensure workers are paid fairly.

"You've got workers that are working on city projects, not making more than construction workers working -- sometimes literally -- across the street from them at the same time," Dorans said. "So, this is a way to make sure that if folks are helping to build the future of Columbus, that they're treated fairly."

For this year, the average prevailing wage is a little less than $18 per hour, but is contingent upon the project.

Columbus is already required to pay construction workers on public projects at least the prevailing wage set by the state, which includes set pay and benefits.

"When the city incentivizes a private construction project with our tax dollars, those same laws don't apply," Dorans said. "And what this legislation would do is basically say, if we're going to use tax dollars to subsidize a private construction project, then those folks should follow the same type of wage and hour rules that we do to make sure that workers that are building things in our community that are ultimately being paid for by the taxpayers, receive a fair wage."

Dorans said the proposed ordinance not only would provide economic security for workers and their families, but it would be a win for the city.

"We get two and a half percent of income tax that's earned by those folks working on that project," Dorans said. "So it's good for the city's bottom line as well."

According to Dorans, well-paying construction jobs help make the trade a viable career.

"That's one of the reasons why, you know, companies like Intel have come to central Ohio, is that we have the skilled trade workforce in order to build these big, complex projects," Dorans said. "And when you make something like that a career where folks can have, you know, longevity of 20, 30 years in that kind of trade, that have the best skill in the industry, you know, being able to make sure that there's wage support folks being in the industry is really, really important."

The current proposal has an exemption for housing construction.

"We know we have a housing crisis," Dorans said. "We know that we need to bring more housing online as quickly as possible and we also just want to be thoughtful about how we can impact that marketplace, given the way that the state law is written for that is really difficult to implement this kind of proposal for."

Dorans said he's hopeful that in the coming months, they'll have a more fleshed out legislative proposal to put before council for a vote. He said he'd like to have at least one more committee hearing on the topic.