April 2009 Vol. 12 No. 4

Carpenters Reps enhance skills as advocates for prevailing wages


Nina Fendel, attorney and legal educator with the Weinberg, Roger, Rosenfeld Law Firm, makes a point during the prevailing wage training.

In this era of budget cuts, understanding prevailing wages and how to advocate to public agencies to protect them has become an important task for Carpenters Union representatives.

Prevailing wages are a special kind of minimum wage, reflecting the most common wage in the local community for the specific craft. Federal and state laws require the payment of prevailing wages on most construction projects funded by the federal or state government, although some local entities and projects may not require the payment of prevailing wages. As government budgets shrink, prevailing wage requirements are coming under increased attack.

In March, 12 Carpenters Union representatives received intensive training on public advocacy for prevailing wages. Patty Gates and Nina Fendel, attorneys with Weinberg, Roger and Rosenfeld, presented the course, which uses the Public Works Compliance website, a project sponsored by the NCCRC and other construction unions and joint labor-management compliance groups.

Presentations outlined the purpose, history and rationale behind prevailing wages as well as persuasion and advocacy. The participants also did hands-on exercises to

increase their skills, researching and presenting arguments in favor of prevailing wages, using the body of literature on this issue, as well as the Public Works Compliance and National Alliance for Fair Contracting websites.

Role-Playing for Success

Next, participants prepared for meetings with city council members from the imaginary city of Achilles. In the role-played meetings, union reps argued that Achilles should not rescind its ordinance requiring payment of prevailing wages on all redevelopment construction projects- even on projects not involving public funding. They developed a strategy tailored to appeal to the interests of specific council people, about whom they were given background facts.

Finally, participants made mock presentations to the Achilles city council, and received in-depth feedback on their presentations

The classes were videotaped. The videos will be used to create an online version of the training. Participants will also have access to a complete version of the materials and trainers’ guides, so they can present the class to others. This kind of training comes at a vitally important moment- when we need every representative and member prepared to fight for Carpenters’ wages and work.

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