A miscalculation in how prevailing wages are calculated in New York reportedly costs the state $3 billion a year in public-infrastructure projects. Prevailing wages in New York are set at the rate in a union contract that covers at least 30% of the workers in a trade and locality, according to the Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia University. But because the number of construction workers has declined, the state is setting the prevailing wage improperly.
(http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120605/LABOR_UNIONS/120609950)
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