THE GREAT MIGRATION AND THE DAVIS-BACON ACT 1DECEMBER 3, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 1.The Washington DC street corner where labor lobbyists have traditionally gathered 2.Lawyers for the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees 3.A special cut of pork served only on Capitol Hill 4.A Republican Senator and Representative respectively 2DECEMBER 3, 2013 DAVIS AND BACON ARE/WERE:
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 4.A Republican Senator and Representative respectively 3DECEMBER 3, 2013 DAVIS AND BACON WERE:
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The First Wave of the Great Migration “The factory owners had to find new workers to replace those who were marching off to war” Jacob Lawrence 6DECEMBER 3, 2013
The First Wave of the Great Migration ( ) - part I "Northern industries offered Southern blacks jobs as workers and lent them money, to be repaid later, for their railroad tickets. The Northbound trains were packed with recruits." Jacob Lawrence 7DECEMBER 3, 2013
“And the immigrants kept coming” Jacob Lawrence 8DECEMBER 3, 2013
"In Chicago and other cities they labored in the steel mills..." Jacob Lawrence 9DECEMBER 3, 2013
"Life in the North brought many challenges, and it was not ideal, but the migrants' lives had changed for the better. The children were able to go to school, and their parents gained the freedom to vote.“ Jacob Lawrence 10DECEMBER 3, 2013
"Many Northern workers were angry because they had to compete with the migrants for housing and jobs. There were riots." Jacob Lawrence 11DECEMBER 3, 2013
“And the immigrants kept coming” Jacob Lawrence 12DECEMBER 3, 2013
Jacob Lawrence painted The Great Migration series in his early 20s 13DECEMBER 3, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE DAVIS-BACON ACT WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN WHAT YEAR:
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE DAVIS-BACON ACT WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN WHAT YEAR: THE BILL FINALLY BECAME LAW IN 1931
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 1.To create a work program to combat the Great Depression 2.To give employees of the Department of Labor (DOL) the opportunity learn how to do compliance 3.To insure migrants did not lower wages 4.To wrap the wage laws of many states into a single federal law 16DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE ORIGINAL MOTIVATION FOR THE DAVIS-BACON ACT WAS:
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 3.To insure migrants did not lower wages 17DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE ORIGINAL MOTIVATION FOR THE DAVIS-BACON ACT WAS: 4.To wrap the wage laws of many states into a single federal law 2.To give employees of the Department of Labor (DOL) the opportunity learn how to do compliance 1.A work program during the Great Depression
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 1.A college degree 2.The Department of Labor to collect prevailing wage data in four sub-categories of construction 3.A maximum eight hour work day 4.That in the case of natural disasters, the law is suspended. 18DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE DAVIS-BACON ACT REQUIRES:
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 2.The Department of Labor to collect prevailing wage data in four sub-categories of construction 19DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE DAVIS-BACON ACT REQUIRES: BONUS: the four sub-categories of construction are? Residential, Heavy, Buildings and Highways
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 1.It tends to favor labor unions 2.It excludes non-unionized workers from federal contracts 3.It has a heavy paperwork burden for employers 4.It tends to inflate wage rates 20DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE DAVIS-BACON ACT CAN BE SEEN AS AN EXAMPLE OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM BECAUSE:
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 1.It tends to favor labor unions 21DECEMBER 3, 2013 THE DAVIS-BACON ACT CAN BE SEEN AS AN EXAMPLE OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM BECAUSE: 2.It excludes non-unionized workers from federal contracts 3.It has a heavy paperwork burden for employers 4.It tends to inflate wage rates
THE HISTORY OF DAVIS BACON Proposed during the “Northern Migration” Northport Hospital project (Veterans) hired immigrants and African Americans for construction Became law in 1931 during Great Depression 22DECEMBER 3, 2013
DAVIS-BACON IMPLEMENTATION Contractors on federal projects pay prevailing wage Prevailing wage determined from surveys by the Wage and Hours Division of DOL Surveys submitted predominantly by unions 23DECEMBER 3, 2013 Ralph C. Thomas, executive director of the National Association of Minority Contractors: “a minority contractor who acquires a Davis-Bacon contract has no choice but to hire skilled tradesmen, the majority of which are of the majority. This defeats a major purpose in the encouragement of minority enterprise development -- the creating of jobs for minorities.” Beacon Hill Institute study: “The WHD calculates, not the prevailing wage, but the wage that would prevail if the wage-setting process were dictated by the construction unions. “
DAVIS-BACON AMBIGUITY Was original legal intent to discriminate based on race? Attempts to repeal prevailing wage laws in some states including OR in 1994 Legal and other challenges 24DECEMBER 3, 2013