Third wage hearing may not be a charm

The Jasper High School Gymnasium wage hearing held today was a repeat of the last two hearings held in the process rebuilding the Jasper High School gymnasium. The three-peat included the committee deciding on the non-union based wage scale that led to a restraining order being filed in November by the Southwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council.

The decision by the wage scale committee is only valid for three months after the hearing. After hearing of the restraining order in November 2011, the Greater Jasper Consolidated School Corporation allowed the previous decision to expire and then rebid the project as a single project. Previously the project was to be bid in two parts to quicken the process and the wage scale hearing was to determine the wages for the foundation portion of the rebuild.

A second wage hearing was held on Feb. 14, but  the labor representative was not properly notified of the hearing and subsequently did not attend. The four person committee at the second hearing approved the wages presented by the representative of Associated Building and Contractors, Inc., but the decision was deemed invalid and the third hearing was scheduled.

Today the  committee consisted of Gene Mehringer (industry representative), Mike Witte (private citizen representative), Assistant Superintendent Mike Hile (Greater Jasper Consolidated School Board appointee), Associated Builders and Contractors President/CEO J.R. Gaylor (non-union trades representative), and AFL-CIO Field Representative Kenny Overton.

The sole deciding factor in the process is the determination of the prevailing wage. According to Indiana Code 5-16-7-1, the committee is to decide the prevailing wage based on the mode of the wages paid in the county for the trade represented. For example the mode of this set of wages {$21.00, $19.00, $21.00, $18.00, $17.00, $21.00} would be $21.00.

Steve Wilson of AFL/CIO presented wages being paid by union contractors in Dubois County. According to Wilson the predominant active wages currently in use on projects in the county reflected those of the labor union. He had previously pointed out that these wages were in use on the Southridge High School remodel and the current Vincennes University Technical Training expansion project on the Jasper Campus.

Gaylor stated the majority of contractors in Dubois County do not pay collectively bargained union rates therefore the wages of these non-union contractors should be considered the prevailing wage. During his discourse Gaylor presented to the committee that the responsibility to the taxpayers should be taken into consideration in making the decision, however according to Assistant Superintendent Mike Hile the insurance company would be paying for the construction of the gymnasium and “zero” taxpayer dollars would be used.

One union representative stated that the committee was not there to determine whether the job would be completed by a union or non-union contractor but to determine the wages for the workers on the project.

Terry Pitman addressed the committee as a representative of Indiana Construction Information Network stating the committee should make the correct choice in regards to the prevailing wage based on the law and not on the amount of the wages. He further stated their decision was being recorded and would be displayed on YouTube.

Overton made a motion to adopt the wages presented by the AFL-CIO representative but it died without a second. Gaylor then made a motion to adopt the wage scale as he presented it; this was seconded and then passed four to one, the lone dissenting vote came from Overton.

Overton disagreed to the decision and stated it would be up to an attorney whether legal action would be taken by any of the union organizations in the area.

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