3 ms·

I once worked construction at a state park, I made prevailing wage which was 4X more than my regular hourly wage. Talk about the slowest moving construction pr

by kneel 4y ago

I once worked construction at a state park, I made prevailing wage which was 4X more than my regular hourly wage. Talk about the slowest moving construction project, everyone was incentivized to take breaks and milk their hours. We turned a 4 hours job into a 2 day project.

chasebank 4y ago
I worked for a private roofing company one summer in high school. The crew I was on would take two hour long naps under their trucks in the shade. I asked about it and one dude said, "The longer the job takes, the more we get paid." I can only imagine this attitude is amplified for government work.
markus_zhang 4y ago
Just wondering why does it affect the total cost though. I think the total cost is stated in the contract? So if you want to pay premium for the workers you are free to so that but that premium should be out from your pocket?
- fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
  Usually projects pay prevailing wage due to a mandate, so every bid has that cost built in.
  - quickthrowman 4y ago
    Yes, this is exactly how it works. All the public construction projects I’ve ever bid (sub or prime contractor) have been fixed price, and everyone factors the cost of the prevailing wage labor into their bid. The union local we hire from is actually paid a bit more than prevailing wage, so I’m already factoring those costs into non-public bids so it doesn’t change much for a union shop.
- pj_mukh 4y ago
  Naively, wondering about this as well. One more Naive question: Can the government do giant speed bonuses i.e. make it worth their while to finish quick?
  - drekipus 4y ago
    Then you get rushed jobs, unfinished work, etc.
    - pj_mukh 4y ago
      Doesn't seem like it would be hard to come up with Objective metrics. The main reason televisions get cheaper is because their quality/output/reliability can be objectively measured.
- thetli8 4y ago
  california regulations mandate prevailing wages for all public works projects [1]. it affects the total cost because, the government should be looking to save taxpayers money by offering the contract to whichever GC that can get the project done in the fastest + cheapest fashion. prevailing wages essentially maps out to be the _highest negotiated union rate_ in the same geography so the mandate basically shoots, in the foot, the ability for the project to collectively bargain. [1] https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/prevailing-wage.html https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/prevailing-wage.html
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

by kneel 4y ago

chasebank 4y ago

I worked for a private roofing company one summer in high school. The crew I was on would take two hour long naps under their trucks in the shade. I asked about it and one dude said, "The longer the job takes, the more we get paid." I can only imagine this attitude is amplified for government work.

markus_zhang 4y ago

Just wondering why does it affect the total cost though. I think the total cost is stated in the contract? So if you want to pay premium for the workers you are free to so that but that premium should be out from your pocket?

fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
Usually projects pay prevailing wage due to a mandate, so every bid has that cost built in.
- quickthrowman 4y ago
  Yes, this is exactly how it works. All the public construction projects I’ve ever bid (sub or prime contractor) have been fixed price, and everyone factors the cost of the prevailing wage labor into their bid. The union local we hire from is actually paid a bit more than prevailing wage, so I’m already factoring those costs into non-public bids so it doesn’t change much for a union shop.
pj_mukh 4y ago
Naively, wondering about this as well. One more Naive question: Can the government do giant speed bonuses i.e. make it worth their while to finish quick?
- drekipus 4y ago
  Then you get rushed jobs, unfinished work, etc.
  - pj_mukh 4y ago
    Doesn't seem like it would be hard to come up with Objective metrics. The main reason televisions get cheaper is because their quality/output/reliability can be objectively measured.
thetli8 4y ago
california regulations mandate prevailing wages for all public works projects [1]. it affects the total cost because, the government should be looking to save taxpayers money by offering the contract to whichever GC that can get the project done in the fastest + cheapest fashion. prevailing wages essentially maps out to be the _highest negotiated union rate_ in the same geography so the mandate basically shoots, in the foot, the ability for the project to collectively bargain. [1] https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/prevailing-wage.html https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/prevailing-wage.html

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]