2 ms·

Labor while cheap is still hard to find, especially on public-works projects where everyones papers need to be in tip top shape. The work is hard, the pay is s

Labor while cheap is still hard to find, especially on public-works projects where everyones papers need to be in tip top shape. The work is hard, the pay is shit, nobody wants to do it if they have even a slightly better option.

rhizome 10y ago
Well since it's not cheap, don't let projects go any slower than necessary or can be predicted (supply chain, equipment, bureaucracy).
yummyfajitas 10y ago
The pay legally cannot be shit. If it was allowed to be shit, contractors would lower wages and hire more people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis%E2%80%93Bacon_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis%E2%80%93Bacon_Act (Back in the day, contractors were hiring black workers and bypassing the more expensive white-only unions. Davis Bacon was passed to fix the "problem" of free markets overcoming racism.)
- tedmiston 10y ago
  From the CityLab link above: > Thus it has, according to a study from the conservative Heartland Institute, calculated prevailing wages at 22 percent above BLS figures, forcing higher prices. Well shit is relative, I guess.
briandear 10y ago
The pay isn't shit. Have a look at a NYC union contract. Skilled construction workers make a very good amount of money. The problem is that unions create a monopoly of labor thus not allowing the free market to determine wages (I am speaking specifically to union projects in places such as NYC.)