Urge Your Member of Congress to Reject the Repeal of The Davis-Bacon Act

SMACNA is urging its members to reach out to their Members of Congress to oppose the repeal of the Davis Bacon Act. H.R. 720, sponsored by Congressman Bob Good (R-VA), is under consideration in the House of Representatives. This bill would repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. In a letter to the House of Representatives, SMACNA voiced its opposition to the legislation and is urging our members to add their voices to this call for action.

In the letter to the House, Stan Kolbe, SMACNA’s Executive Director for Government and Political Affairs, stated that lawmakers who rejected this effort would be “supporting construction workforce training quality, public project safety, and productivity…” and that “SMACNA members and allied quality driven contractors understand that any major investment in public infrastructure should recognize the extreme importance and merit in prevailing wages as part of any quality based public procurement policy.”

SMACNA has long been a champion of strongly enforced Federal, state, and local prevailing wage laws as they encourage employers to pay a locally prevailing wage and offer health care coverage to their employees and their families, provide for the future retirement of their employees, and make a significant investment in the registered apprenticeship training and safety programs. SMACNA contractors have long understood the value of a public-sector procurement policy that encourages building a skilled workforce that enjoys quality wages, benefits, and training and that companies employing such workers should not be disadvantaged when bidding on Federal construction projects.

Please take a moment to call your Member of Congress and urge them to reject this attempt to discourage the use of a highly skilled workforce on critical public sector projects. Also, please take a moment to read SMACNA’S letter to the House of Representatives detailing its opposition to H.R. 720 as well as SMACNA's letter opposing the companion Senate bill.