Early in February 1999, legislation was introduced in both the Michigan House and Senate to repeal the state's Prevailing Wage Act. Just a week later, several organized trades leaders (both union and management) gathered to decide a course of action.
| Their eventual plan included, as its centerpiece, a jointly sponsored “Prevailing Wage Symposium” with a two-fold purpose: | |
| 1. | Increase the awareness of construction trades leaders and workers (both union and management) to the impending threat of repeal and |
| 2. | Explain to legislators, the media, and the public (a) the importance of keeping our state’s prevailing wage law (b) the negatives that occurred in states after repeal and, (c) the credible research that counters/refutes the unsubstantiated claims and half truths voiced by repeal supporters. |
The Symposium was held on March 3, 1999. It included three keynote speakers: national labor analyst Peter Cockshaw, Professor Peter Philips, a nationally respected economist from the University of Utah, and nationally renown labor arbitrator and consultant Professor Daniel H. Kruger from nearby Michigan State University.
