Reply #30: This is good news. Here's some back story, older articles and du threads

[Nothing Without Hope]

on this issue:

Bush's move to lower wages for Katrina workers:
Here's a thread from Sept 9 on Bush's move to lower wages for Katrina workers:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1765780
thread title: Bush lifts wage rules for Katrina
Excerpt:

President Bush issued an executive order Thursday allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to pay below the prevailing wage.

In a notice to Congress, Bush said the hurricane had caused "a national emergency" that permits him to take such action under the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act in ravaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Bush's action came as the federal government moved to provide billions of dollars in aid, and drew rebukes from two of organized labor's biggest friends in Congress, Rep. George Miller of California and Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, both Democrats.

"The administration is using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities," Miller said.

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Congressperson Susan Davis then moved to block this, as described and discussed in this Sept 16 thread (what happened to this Davis effort?):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4798237
thread title: Congresswoman Davis: "Talk about hitting someone when they're down,"
Excerpt:

Congresswoman Susan Davis Moves to Protect Wages of Hurricane Katrina Victims

Davis Endorses Legislation to Block the Bush Administration from Cutting Wages

Washington, DC — With the total financial and human devastation of Hurricane Katrina still yet to be completely realized, Congresswoman Susan Davis moved to protect the wages of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Davis cosponsored legislation to rescind an order by President Bush that suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires federal contractors to pay employees the local prevailing wage for their job, for counties in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and even Florida.

"Talk about hitting someone when they're down," said Davis, a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. "While millions of Americans are opening their hearts and their wallets to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Administration acts to undermine the ability for these victims to rebuild their lives. With criticism of racial and class insensitivity regarding the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, it's mind-boggling that the Administration would want to prevent workers from earning the prevailing wage."

The prevailing wage is the amount workers in a certain job classification, such as carpenters, union or non-union, typically make in that geographical area. The foundation behind the Davis-Bacon Act is that when the federal government spends billions of dollars of taxpayer money, that money should not be used to drive down workers’ wages.

A $29.8 million contract has already been awarded to the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root for clean-up and repair work in the region. Suspension of Davis-Bacon will allow the company to avoid paying the prevailing wage for that work.

The prevailing wages in the Gulf Coast region are already low. In counties like Orleans, the prevailing wage for a mason tender working in heavy construction is only $7.00 per hour.

The Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act will reverse the order of the Bush Administration and reinstate Davis-Bacon for the counties affected by the hurricane.