MacIver News Service | May 28, 2015
[Madison, Wisc…] The Assembly Committee on Labor approved a bill on Wednesday after 8 hours of public and executive hearings that would repeal Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law.Democrats on the committee are opposed to the bill and cited many reasons throughout of the day for their opposition. One of the more notable reasons involved a desire to prevent out-of-state contractors and “guest workers” from working on public works projects in Wisconsin.
This position was preceded over the past several days by an aggressive advertising campaign claiming that repealing prevailing wage would open the door for “illegal workers” to take Wisconsin jobs.
Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger) testified about the offensiveness of the ad, and how racism factored into the passage of the prevailing wage law over 80 years ago.
Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa (D-Milwaukee) later testified that she wasn’t opposed to the ads, but that she was offended by Gannon’s comments.
The committee passed the bill on a 5-4 vote.