Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity is joining forces with other anti-worker organizations to lobby the Wisconsin state legislature in hopes of ending the state’s prevailing wage. The prevailing wage creates an even playing field for workers on local and state public works and constructions projects. Republican lawmakers are citing a study funded by a trade association called Associated Builder and Contractors (ABC) to argue that the prevailing wage is unnecessarily adding to the cost of such projects.
However, the study seems to be deeply flawed; one economics professor even called it “a mirage.” If AFP and its cronies are successful in ending the prevailing wage it could drive workers away from the state.
State Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said, “Repealing prevailing wage would be another huge hit against the middle class and small businesses in Wisconsin. Over the last decade, Wisconsin has been the worst state in the nation for the middle class… The bottom line is that Wisconsin has a system that works and Republicans want to dismantle it knowing that it will drive down wages.”
For over thirty plus years, the Kochs have fought against the minimum wage with AFP at the helm of their campaign. They have no problem hurting Wisconsin’s workers and the state’s greater economy as long as they come out with a profit.