The debate over prevailing wages in Michigan is still in full swing.�The Detroit Free Press�recently posted
an�article�housing multiple opinions on this hot topic. Amy Susalla, President of Detroit A&J Construction �shared her thoughts�with the press and is all for�prevailing wages. She took the time to look into the University of Utah�s�study from 2001�which did a statistical analysis of construction costs during a period when the prevailing wage law had been suspended in the 1990s and concluded there was �no statistically significant� difference ( in cost ) between those public schools built with prevailing wages and those public schools built without this regulation.� Susalla further backs her beliefs with data from the�Federal Highway Administration�which found that states paying higher wages experienced lower costs overall with a 32% decrease in labor hours leading to savings of $30,000 per mile or more.

In addition to the strong data supporting her argument, Susalla points out the benefits of prevailing wage to Michigan�s recovering economy by providing higher paying jobs to local workers and ensuring that the most skilled and productive workers are on the job to provide a solid infrastructure that will ideally require less maintenance leading to lower long term costs.

How do you feel about prevailing wages in your state?