Tuesday, November 3, 1998
Union pushes for wage standard at UCLA
CONSTRUCTION: Officials cite state laws; workers say salary
affects project
By Lawrence Ferchaw
Daily Bruin Staff
Contractors building De Neve Plaza, UCLA’s next residence
complex, are not required to pay employees the prevailing wage, a
standard ordinarily required on projects at public
institutions.
Prevailing wage is the pay rate established by the state as the
rate which must be paid to employees on public works projects. That
UCLA got an exemption from this requirement has at least one labor
union angry.
"People ought to be paid a decent wage and not a substandard
wage," said Steve Skinas, business agent for the local chapter of
the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental
Iron Workers.
The prevailing wage is determined by the state Bureau of Labor
Standards as an average of the wages paid to union workers in a
specific trade in a certain area, at a certain time.
"It’s for the benefit of the worker," said Ramail Noche,
management service technician for California’s Industrial Relations
Board.
Though UCLA is exempt from some state laws, the university is
required to pay prevailing wage on projects with one exception
 the construction of housing.
If the university can demonstrate three things  that the
fund source is external (not paid for with state funds), that the
loan will be paid back with fees charged to students or faculty and
that the project would be infeasible if the prevailing wage were
paid  then it can be exempted from paying the prevailing
wage.
All three tests were met on the De Neve Plaza project, according
to Brad Erickson, director of real estate for UCLA.
"We are complying with all applicable laws and policies,"
Erickson said.
The project is being paid for by a bank loan which will be paid
back by student housing fees. UCLA officials estimate that the
project would cost 10 to 15 percent more if prevailing wages were
required.
Despite these explanations, Skinas is still not satisfied. He
believes the university should still require prevailing wage to be
paid.
"It’s a state campus," Skinas said. "They got an exemption for
one project; it’s something they snuck through on this
project."
Though the university does not require contractors to pay the
prevailing wage, it does not preclude them from doing so. In fact,
nearly half of the 26 subcontractors on the project said they pay
prevailing wage to their employees.
"We pay prevailing wage because that’s our standard," said Kathy
Szilagyi, project manager for Queen City Glass, a subcontractor
working on De Neve Plaza.
Other subcontractors said they are union contractors and
therefore required to pay prevailing wage to employees as part of
their contracts with them.
One non-union subcontractor, who will not be paying prevailing
wage on the project, said he evaluates the job before deciding how
much he will pay employees.
"We wouldn’t pay it if we weren’t required to," said Mike
Knoell, an estimator for Performance Concrete.
Skinas also argued that by not paying the prevailing wage, the
quality of work would suffer, especially with non-union labor.
Erickson said the same safety and building standards are in
place despite the difference in wages.
"Our quality standards and safety requirements are stringent,"
Erickson said. "It does not change based on whether prevailing
wages are required."
The exception to the prevailing wage requirement creates a
situation which puts students’ interests in conflict with those of
the workers, since either way, students will be footing the
bill.
"It’s a challenge," Erickson said of the decision over whether
or not to pay the prevailing wage.
The need to choose between paying workers well, and charging
students higher housing fees creates a dilemma.
"Is it fair for students to pay 15 percent more, or is it fair
to the people getting 40 percent less?" Skinas said.
"Maybe ‘fair’ should be stricken from the English language," he
added.
Despite whether or not the situation is fair, UCLA is clearly
faced with a housing shortage. The number of triple rooms in the
residence halls increased dramatically this year, and many students
still live in floor study lounges.
"Students are our primary customers," Erickson said. "When we’re
faced with this challenge, we choose to provide the most affordable
housing to students, faculty and staff."
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