While Republican lawmakers were taking bites out of unions in Lansing in 1999, GOP lawmakers in Congress were barely nipping at labor's heels.

"Nearly all bills (both pro- and anti-labor) in the Republican-controlled 106th Congress that affect construction employment have languished since being introduced," according to the Construction Labor Report.

A House Bill that would have made it easier for nonunion employers to refuse to hire union salts - who apply for employment at nonunion shops with the intent to organize - made it out of

a House subcommittee but didn't receive a hearing in the Senate.

Numerous bills that would provide tax incentives for school construction were introduced, including four that had Davis-Bacon wage provisions attached. None were adopted. However, one union official told the Bureau of National Affairs that labor sees it's a positive long-term step to have the Davis-Bacon provisions attached.

"Perennial GOP-backed bills to repeal Davis-Bacon received lukewarm reception in both houses with no hearings in either body and a certain veto by President Clinton if passed," said the Construction Labor Report. As we have reported previously, all the academic studies that have come out this year indicating the prevailing wage repeal doesn't have much affect on the bottom-line cost of construction has cooled Republican lawmakers' enthusiasm for Davis-Bacon repeal.

Also getting the cold shoulder is a GOP amendment to limit the use of union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on publicly funded construction projects. The U.S. Supreme Court and numerous state courts have ruled that PLAs are an acceptable way for governments to solicit contractors.

Labor Secretary Alexis Herman is recommending a presidential veto of a proposal that would allow qualifying small businesses and labor unions to recoup attorney fees if they prevail in judicial or administrative actions brought against them by either the National Labor Relations Board or OSHA.