Advocacy
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Davis Bacon Wage Issue

Davis Bacon is one of the biggest issues facing the Virginia roofing industry today.

In brief, the Davis Bacon Act requires roofing contractors pay their workers prevailing wage rates on public projects. In November 2010, the prevailing wage for a roofer in Virginia (excluding Northern Virginia) went from an average of $13 per hour including fringes to an average of $38 per hour including fringes – tripling the old rate! This level of increase threatens the stability and economic recovery of the Virginia roofing industry.

This issue negatively impacts roofing contractors, suppliers and taxpayers of the Commonwealth. Think about this:
• For all contractors, many skilled tradesmen and laborers will refuse non-government work in order to receive the Davis Bacon wage. They will move from company to company based on who has government contracts destabilizing the roofing workforce.
• As an industry, Virginia roofing professionals want to pay top wages to attract and keep talented workers. Many of us were already paying our workforce the previous Davis Bacon wage on non-public projects in order to retain them.
• For suppliers, design professionals, independent sales representatives, and associate members, projects with these wages will inevitably lead to increased costs in the private sector as well as slow down federal and state projects due to cost issues which hurts the entire roofing profession. The long term affect is less work and higher unemployment.
• Prevailing Davis Bacon wage rates tend to affect all public work after they are established. This can be at the Federal, State and County level.
• Many Virginia localities are paying over twice as much for labor than the private sector to install a roof. As a taxpayer of the Commonwealth, we are all financially impacted and should be appalled.
• The bottom line is that the current prevailing wages need to be modified to a level that is reflective of the current building trade wages. An increase may be in order but not to the current magnitude. Virginia needs to remain a right-to-work state.

All VARP members and concerned tax payers in Virginia should notify their Congressman and Senators Warner and Webb right away by calling or writing letters.

Below is sample text for a letter:

Dear ________,
..
I am [insert title] of [insert company name] in Virginia. The Davis Bacon Act requires roofing contractors pay their workers prevailing wage rates on public projects. In November 2010, the prevailing wage for a roofer in most areas of Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia/DC Metro area) went from an average of $13 per hour including fringes to an average of $35 per hour including fringes. This steep increase is unreasonable, nonsensical and egregious.
..
The situation is problematic for several reasons:
..
· Virginia localities, many of which are facing a budget crisis, are paying over twice as much for labor than the private sector to install a roof.
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· Many roofing laborers will refuse non-government work in order to receive the Davis Bacon wage. They will even move from company to company based on who has government contracts. This greatly destabilizes the roofing industry.
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· Projects with these wages will inevitably slow down due to cost issues, which will hurt building owners, contractors, and laborers alike.
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Many of Virginia’s reputable roofing contractors were already paying their workers the previous Davis Bacon wage on non-public projects in order to retain them. However, this is impossible with the current Davis Bacon wages.
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Anything you can do to bring the Davis Bacon wages in Virginia back to reasonable levels would be most appreciated.
..
Sincerely,
..
________________

Letters to Senator Warner and/or Senator Webb should be addressed to:

The Honorable Mark Warner (or Jim Webb )
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Letters to House members should be addressed to:

The Honorable (name of Representative)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Please provide copies of your letters to the VARP office. The copies will be helpful in our lobbying efforts.