Construction site workers deserve prevailing wages

Due before the Kansas Senate today is discussion on a bill to deny communities the right to set prevailing wage rates.
Senators should resist the urge to play Big Brother.

FOR A LONG time, Kansas was a leader in workers’ rights. In 1891, it became the first state to set a base rate of pay to local workers for public works projects. The wage laws prevented large companies from under-bidding local contractors. They also included minimum labor standards such as eight-hour workdays and benefits. The thinking behind establishing the threshold was…