Hey kids! Mojo here! It's true that I don't think we need a special session to address the problem with our laws that is causing hundreds of drug busts to fall apart, and others not to be investigated at all. But I did announce this week that all new employees who want to work for me have to get tested for drugs! Believe it or not, those two things are connected!
Here's my plan. We're going to send a job application to all the people who the police think are dealing drugs! Then, when they come in to apply for the job, we'll test them for drugs! Bam! They're caught! We don't need any silly wiretaps!
< NEW! Search the Republican Gazette archives!
Abernathy Strategies
New for 2007-08
RepublicanGazette
Friday, June 22, 2007
Submissions welcome
The Republican Gazette welcomes Emails to the Editor and press releases. All submitted items must include the name and contact information for the author of the article, and all articles will only be published with the author's name included. Thank you for reading and participating in The Republican Gazette, another of West Virginia's most biased publications.
All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
---
McKinney meets with RNC reps to plan for Victory campaign in 2008
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney, his wife, Sue, and yours truly traveled to Washington D.C. on Thursday to meet with Republican National Committee officials to discuss the "Victory" plan for 2008.
West Virginia is once again a targeted state for the coming election cycle, and the RNC and state party are working to ensure the state remains in the GOP column in the presidential race, reelects Shelley
Moore Capito, and identifies where the best opportunities lie in other races.
Also discussed was the state's new convention format, and future staffing plans in the state.
Leading the meeting was RNC chief of staff Anne Hathaway, along with political director Rich Beeson and others. RNC co-chair Jo Ann Davidson participated as well.
No, my Democrat readers, I'm not giving away any other details.
Blair on Talkline makes case for wiretap session
Berkeley County Delegate Craig Blair appeared on Hoppy Kercheval's Talkline show Thursday to make the case for a special session to strengthen state law in regard to wiretaps in drug busts.
The appearance by Blair came on the heels of a press concerence in the Eastern Panhandle where lawmakers made that pitch, as well as calling for a constitutional amendement.
Blair told Kercheval that waiting until the next regular session would continue to tie the hands of law enforcement for eight more months.
Gov. Joe Manchin has said he sees no need to call a special session to deal with the issue.
MUCH MORE ACCURATE -- If the state was being honest with visitors crossing state lines, its motto on welcome signs would read like this one, given the baby steps that have been taken in the last three years rather than the bold changes the state needs.
Flagman wanted: Will pay $32 per hour
Guest column by Delegate Jonathan Miller
Road improvements and new road construction cost, on average, 30% more in West Virginia than in neighboring states. Why? West Virginia labor laws. West Virginia has a law that skews the cost of labor for all public works projects. Of course, this skew is on the high side. The state calls this skewed law the “prevailing wage.”
The Division of Labor (DOL) controls the prevailing wage rate. When calculating the prevailing wage, the DOL always finds a way to make the wages as high as possible. Of course, we don’t want people to make low wages; however, knowing that this money is public money and therefore taxpayers’ money, it makes you wonder why many of these trades make so much.
For example, a Class III Laborer for a construction company makes nearly $32 per hour at the current prevailing wage. A Class III Laborer is what you and I know as the Flagman.
Couldn’t the Flagman make half as much? Making $16 per hour certainly isn’t a slave wage by any means. Currently, the federal government has a law, that if applied in WV, most of the workers on public projects would make a more accurate wage. It is called the Davis-Bacon Act.
A Division of Labor employee working for the Wage and Hour Section told me that if we used the Davis-Bacon wage rates, we could save the state millions. Why? Our “prevailing wage” is almost always far above the Davis-Bacon wage and by law we must use whichever pay rate is higher.
If we merely moved to using the Davis-Bacon wage rate, we could probably save you, the taxpayer, at least 15% on all public works projects. When saving 15% on millions and millions of dollars in projects, that certainly adds up.
The prevailing wage is used for all public works projects, which includes schools. Berkeley County Class III Laborers, such as a Tool Room Attendant, for school construction make nearly $27 hourly. The teacher who teaches your child only makes $15 per hour, while the Tool Room Attendant makes $12 more. I’m not advocating for class warfare and I’m not demeaning the work of another. I just want us to have the proper perspective.
Looking at the prevailing wage across the state, you will also find no standard wage exists for many trades. Different localities seem to get different pay, which makes it seem like the Division of Labor recognizes locality pay.
Finally, speaking of highway projects, funds have been approved for a stoplight to be installed at the off-ramp of the I-81/Rt.51 Intersection in Inwood. Construction should begin in August. Just imagine if we didn’t have the skewed wage rate, we may already have that stoplight.
