Representatives of contractors, building trades and union signatory firms urged the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development on Nov. 17 to support changes to prevailing-wage law that would include bona fide apprenticeship and training program contributions in prevailing wage calculations and ensure health-and-welfare credits reflect the true cost of benefits.

Eddie Donga, counsel to the construction industries Massachusetts Labor Relations Division, said H2126 "would add bona fide apprenticeship and training programs to the enumerated fringe benefits used for determining the prevailing wage on construction projects in the Commonwealth," bringing state law into alignment with federal prevailing-wage statutes. "These programs are the lifeblood of the construction industry," Donga said, adding they promote safety and ensure a trained workforce.

Speakers representing building trades and Teamsters asked the committee to require prevailing-wage calculations to include full, verifiable health-and-welfare costs and to oppose narrow exemptions that would exclude projects from prevailing-wage obligations. "Requiring the prevailing wage calculation to include the full, verifiable cost of providing a comprehensive union-level health and welfare benefit is the only way to protect established area standards," one Teamsters speaker said.

The committee did not record any formal action on these measures during the hearing; members encouraged written testimony to be submitted by Nov. 20.