Skilled trades leaders call out ABC’s misleading claims

Legislators warned to beware of myths pushed by shady special interest group during renewed lobbying push

LANSING – Leaders representing Michigan’s skilled trades today reminded policymakers to be on the lookout for false claims and half-truths being pushed by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan (ABC) as the special interest group kicks off a renewed lobbying push at the state Capitol.

“We urge policymakers to beware of this special interest lobbying group’s misleading, self-interested and patently untrue claims,” said Mike Jackson, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights. “The ABC has a long history of saying anything to push their agenda that will hurt Michigan’s skilled workforce, send jobs to out-of-state contractors and take our state’s economy backward.”

Skilled trades leaders highlighted three important myths and facts for lawmakers:

MYTH #1: On Feb. 15, ABC’s state director and leader of the group’s efforts to repeal prevailing wage, Jeff Wiggins, falsely claimed that Michigan’s prevailing wage law is a “costly carve-out.”
FACT: Research clearly demonstrates the prevailing wage stabilizes the skilled trades workforce, and repealing it does not result in a reduction of construction costs and does not save taxpayer dollars.

***

MYTH #2: Wiggins said on Jan. 30, that ABC “thoroughly vetted” petition signatures and has said “we know” that a larger sample of 4,443 signatures “is going to come back and show that we have it.”
FACT: A close review of the 4,443-signature sample revealed that ABC’s petition was rife with invalid and duplicate signatures, sloppy mistakes and egregious circulator errors.
• The review found that nearly a third of the signatures were invalid and found 290 circulator errors, which included attempts to pass off the addresses of abandoned homes as valid residential addresses.

***

MYTH #3: On Nov. 3, 2017 Wiggins said “Michigan citizens have spoken” in favor of repealing prevailing wage by signing the group’s petition.
FACT: Wiggins has repeatedly stated that his goal is not to allow the public to vote, but to sidestep voters and rush the measure through the Legislature.
• “Our goal isn’t to put it on the ballot. Our goal is to have the Legislature vote on it as soon as we can get our signatures validated and confirmed,” Wiggins told Bridge Magazine as early as Nov. 27, 2017.