labor rates

[genek]

The carpenter and other labor rates for July has been posted. for those who would like to know what they should be charging go to this site.

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/...f#/a878b7af/12

[davidp]

Hi Eugene,

Out of curiosity why the big difference between states? For example if you work as a carpenter in Ohio its $32.59 ph but across the river in West Virginia it is $10.31 ph. I know 40 years ago when I lived in Ohio, the Buckeyes looked down on the West Virginians but this is ridiculous. What is the difference?

David

[kurt_rose]

I live in south New Jersey and the rate posted could never be had in the southern part of the state. Now in north Jersey it's common. They're a bridge trip away from New York City. A lot of the residents of north jersey work in NYC. I think it all boils down to the closer you are to a major metropolitan area the higher the salary. At least that's the way I see it.

[genek]

The wages are set according to cost of living, average pay in the area, and some other things that i am not sure of.

[bleeth]

We've done several Davis-Bacon jobs. The rates apply to those men working on the job site. In house fabricators who do not go onsite are not covered when the contract is a construction job and don't need to be earning Davis-Bacon wages. In fact they don't need to be reported at all. Typically a skilled installer here will earn above those rates anyway and if they aren't a skilled installer, then they are classified as laborer.
The fun part is the certified payroll reports.

[gpinard]

The chart Eugene has referenced is a listing of prevailing wages required to be paid on projects falling under the Davis Bacon laws. This means pretty much any project funded with public money, schools, fire stations, highways, bridges etc. this law does not apply for private money projects, houses, apartment buildings, banks, private company office buildings etc.

Prevailing wages are monitored by government, watching what the workers of the state are paid. Trade unions deliver reports to governments documenting what their members are dispatched at. This union reporting plays a part in establishing prevailing wages. In states with stronger union presence, both public and a larger portion of private projects get paid at prevailing rates, roughly equal to union rates. In "Right to Work" states, (I don't know how that term came to be) I believe unions have basically been legislated out of the state. Wages are generaly lower. I'm not sure about WV vs Ohio question, this may be the reason for the disparity in wages. The southern NJ rates vs the northern of the state will be same for all projects funded with public money, the private money non union worker rates, they could vary wildly.

The Washington rate listed for carpenters is incorrect by about $10. This gives me caution using this resource. For Washington and likely any state, I would suggest looking to the Labor and Industries website and look up prevailing rates. It is also worth noting that these rates are for the wage and fringe benefit package combined. If the worker, via the union or the employer has medical and retirement plans, the on the check wages are less.
Hope this provides some explanation.

[frank134]

Hi,
All I can say here is you all better read up on prevailing wage. There are six kind first. residential, commercial and highway and these can be federal or state. All of these can be different depending on where you live. All payroll must be certified. Not all trades allow laborers. reporting guidelines differ from state to state and state to federal.
We do a lot of prevailing wage job and every job you have to ask for the specific rate for that job.

[bob_reda]

Here in Pa the rate is county by county. I have been on several davis bacon jobs. Also, that rate is the charge out rate. I don't know of any union plumber in Pa, even in Philly bringing home $55 an hour. That would include benefits and such.

Bob

[chiloquinruss]

Another thing to consider, especially for us botters, is most charge for machine time (which may include some labor time in their calculations). Additionally we MAY charge for design time. I don't know anyone in my area charging just a labor rate for cnc work, or machine + labor, they just invoice for machine time. Russ