Important to press for prevailing wage

Regarding the Tuesday letter, “Housing Hope: Union’s claim is outrageous”:

As a union carpenter who lives in Snohomish County I have seen and heard about these banners. I have stopped and spoken with the people holding them. I don’t think that the people who complain about what the banner people are doing have talked with them.

I have been a carpenter all my life. The tactics that the carpenters union uses may make people uncomfortable, but that is what causes change. Why do we need change? Year after year contractors are cutting wages for skilled craftsmen. Contractors and companies are attacking the middle class by lowering wages. Companies that pay the area standards as set by the state of Washington make it possible for blue collar workers (like me) to live a comfortable life. Companies that don’t depress the local economy and that affects all of us.

The carpenters union’s complaint with Kirtley-Cole is not a union issue. It is a living wage issue. They want all contractors to pay the area standards. If someone wants to use a construction company that doesn’t pay area standards they are contributing to the decline in wages. This hurts us all. For someone to say they do great things in our community on one hand, but depress the wages on the other, shame on them. All the carpenters union wants to do is ensure all contractors pay the area standards as set by the state of Washington. This will be the most beneficial to our community.

If Housing Hope, Bob Winston Financial or Trinity Lutheran College are such caring community organizations, why not require their contractors to pay the state prevailing wage?

John Torkelson

Snohomish