On large public works construction projects in Washington, state law requires that workers be paid the prevailing wage. So why isn’t that happening for some sheet metal work on the in-progress Vancouver Fire Station No. 11 construction?
That’s a question Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 has been asking for months without a meaningful response (except a cease-and-desist letter from the contractor they say is breaking the law).
The thing to know in this case is that Washington’s prevailing wage law covers not just work done on a construction site but “off-site work such as custom fabrication for the public works project,” according to Washington Labor & Industries (L&I), the agency that administers labor law in the state.
According to a 1987 policy issued by L&I, such off-site custom fabrication includes sheet metal ducts for HVAC systems in public works projects. Workers must be paid prevailing wage when they’re custom fabricating these systems for a public works project, according to the 1987 directive.
“We’re talking about $50 an hour that’s getting cheated out of workers. We’re talking about full family health insurance, and we’re talking about training.”
–Sheet Metal Local 16 organizer Darrin Boyce
The current journey-level prevailing wage for sheet metal workers is $66.06 per hour. But at the $7.1 million Vancouver Fire Station construction project on Northeast 130th Avenue, workers who’ve fabricated custom duct work were paid closer to minimum wage.
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