Sponsored by: Donna Nyberg, Labor Caucus Approved: 11/17/2019
A RESOLUTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON
WHEREAS, Article 1-The Plank 5 of the Democratic Party of Oregon Platform states ‘We believe businesses have a responsibility to pay a living wage to their employees to avoid shifting the burden of basic services to the taxpayer’, and
WHEREAS, The Oregon State Building & Construction Trades Council and its affiliate unions works to protect the dignity of Oregon’s building and construction trades workers, promote workforce development, and ensure that skilled trades workers can support their families, and
WHEREAS, the wages, benefits, and safe working conditions negotiated by the unions have translated into better benefits for unrepresented workers as well as union workers and their families, and
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has been the strong ally of labor and building and construction trades unions and the working people in the United States, and
WHEREAS, The Oregon State Building & Construction Trades Council and its affiliate skilled trade unions recognize that prevailing wage creates economic growth opportunities for the State, that prevailing wages reflect the local economy, ensuring that building and construction trade workers can earn a fair wage for their work on public projects, the ability to provide for their families, and
WHEREAS, many construction projects in Oregon receive state or local tax abatements or public subsidies but are not required by law to pay a “prevailing wage”,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. To strongly encourage the Oregon State Legislature to require prevailing wages on all projects that receive in whole or in part, public subsidies in the form of tax breaks, tax deferments, grants or publicly financed loans.
Section 2. We further affirm our support for Oregon’s Building and Construction Trades Unions, and other construction related unions, and the benefits they bring to our state.
Section 3. Projects in Oregon that receive public subsidies in the form of tax abatements should be required to pay prevailing wages to the building and construction trade workers, employ registered apprentices, and work to improve diversity and inclusion in the trades.
