Pay the NO workers, BushCo!!!!

September 14, 2005
Congresswoman Susan Davis Moves to Protect Wages of Hurricane Katrina Victims
Davis Endorses Legislation to Block the Bush Administration from Cutting Wages

Washington, DC — With the total financial and human devastation of Hurricane Katrina still yet to be completely realized, Congresswoman Susan Davis moved to protect the wages of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Davis cosponsored legislation to rescind an order by President Bush that suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires federal contractors to pay employees the local prevailing wage for their job, for counties in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and even Florida.

"Talk about hitting someone when they're down," said Davis, a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. "While millions of Americans are opening their hearts and their wallets to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Administration acts to undermine the ability for these victims to rebuild their lives. With criticism of racial and class insensitivity regarding the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, it's mind-boggling that the Administration would want to prevent workers from earning the prevailing wage."

The prevailing wage is the amount workers in a certain job classification, such as carpenters, union or non-union, typically make in that geographical area. The foundation behind the Davis-Bacon Act is that when the federal government spends billions of dollars of taxpayer money, that money should not be used to drive down workers’ wages.

A $29.8 million contract has already been awarded to the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root for clean-up and repair work in the region. Suspension of Davis-Bacon will allow the company to avoid paying the prevailing wage for that work.

The prevailing wages in the Gulf Coast region are already low. In counties like Orleans, the prevailing wage for a mason tender working in heavy construction is only $7.00 per hour.

The Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act will reverse the order of the Bush Administration and reinstate Davis-Bacon for the counties affected by the hurricane.
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