Whitmer redoubles her attack on small businesses and our state constitution
October 7, 2021 (LANSING) – Today, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in a blatant and illegal use of executive power, announced she was reinstating Prevailing Wage Requirements for all state contracts. The Prevailing Wage law of 1966 was repealed by Initiative Petition in 2018.
“While we appreciate that the Governor got used to unilaterally making decisions over the past two years, we are disappointed that she would once again be so blatant in her abuse of power and actually believe that it is in her constitutional purview to reinstate a law that had been repealed by the legislature through an initiative petition,” said Amanda Fisher, assistant state director for the National Federation of Independent Business in Michigan.
NFIB members continue to support prevailing wage repeal because it drives up construction costs for taxpayers and discourages small business from bidding on government construction projects. Prevailing wage is nothing more than a protectionist regulation for and by construction labor unions.
Prevailing wage projects are prohibitive for most small businesses, who do not have the resources to track all of the burdensome red tape that comes with this kind of project. “While the Governor claims she is helping families, the truth is, she will hurt small businesses and countless families still trying to recover from her inconsistent and draconian restrictions on business for the past year and a half,” continued Fisher.
“I’m also curious that if this action is indeed legal and constitutional, why bills were introduced this session that would reinstate that law,” concluded Fisher.
NFIB will continue to fight executive overreach so that small businesses in Michigan can continue to be represented by their duly elected legislators.
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