West Virginia can improve its appeal as a state for contractors to do business according to a scorecard launched today by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). “Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard” reviews and grades state-specific information significant to the success of the commercial and industrial construction industry. The scorecard website, meritshopscorecard.org, identifies states, such as West Virginia, where strategic improvements need to be made to create an environment where merit-shop contractors are well positioned to succeed and states that have created contractor-friendly business environments.
The Merit Shop Scorecard grades states on their policies on project labor agreement (PLA) and prevailing wage mandates, right-to-work status as well as their construction job growth rate, commitment to developing a well-trained workforce, level of flexibility in career and technical education curricula and use of public-private partnerships (P3s).
“West Virginia policymakers have enacted some merit-shop friendly policies, but still have room for improvement in creating a business environment where contractors can excel,” said ABCWV President Bryan Hoylman. “Senate Bill 409, Establishing the Fair and Open Competition in Governmental Construction Act passed during the 2015 legislative session, has helped contractors by prohibiting the use of wasteful and anti-competitive Project Labor Agreements on taxpayer funded projects. However, West Virginia policymakers can further reduce the cost of public construction to taxpayers and make it easier for contractors to expand their operations and create more jobs by passing a full repeal of the State’s artificially inflated prevailing wage laws and by ending the practice of forcing workers to join and pay dues to organized labor unions as a condition of employment by adopting a Right-to-Work law in West Virginia,” Hoylman continued.
The merit shop philosophy is the belief that people and companies succeed based on free enterprise principles within the free market system, which is characterized by open and fair competition and diverse participants. Those who adhere to the philosophy believe employees and employers have the right to determine wages and working conditions through either individual or collective bargaining, as they choose, within the boundaries of the law. They oppose violence, coercion, intimidation and the denial of the rights of employees and employers. Furthermore, they believe it is incumbent upon all branches of government to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and that government should award contracts based solely on merit to the lowest responsible bidder, regardless of labor affiliation.
High-performing states such as Arizona, Louisiana and Virginia received top marks for their right-to-work policies and opposition to PLA and prevailing wage mandates.
The Merit Shop Scorecard was developed with input from ABC chapters and industry stakeholders across the country. States were evaluated based on their policies and records on seven key issues:
- Project Labor Agreements (PLAs)
- Prevailing Wage
- Right to Work
- Public-Private Partnerships (P3s)
- Workforce Development
- Career and Technical Education
- Job Growth Rate
Criteria and definitions are available on meritshopscorecard.org. The scorecard will be updated with exclusive state construction unemployment rate estimates from economist Bernard Markstein, Ph.D.
