LANSING - Prevailing wage continues to be one of the Republican Party's favorite whipping boys, but the state law is being saved by a few GOP members who haven't joined in the fray.

This year, there are no less than four bills that would, in one form or another, repeal the Michigan Prevailing Wage Act of 1966. It is the single most important law that keeps Michigan construction wages among the highest in the nation.

There have been bills to repeal prevailing wage in every legislative session in recent memory. This time, the state Republican sponsors are tying prevailing wage repeal to bills that would:

• Exempt local public school districts from prevailing wage requirements;
• Eliminate the reference to prevailing wage on state-funded road projects;
• Eliminate the reference to prevailing wage on public school construction projects.
• Tie the prevailing wage repeal to proposed repeal of living wage provisions in local communities.

"The anti-prevailing wage bills are out there, but we should be able to turn them back," said Michigan AFL-CIO Legislative Assistant Ken Fletcher. "Republicans still don't have enough votes in the House or the Senate."

The GOP has a majority in both houses of the state legislature, but the building trades have cultivated a few friendships among a handful of Republican lawmakers, who have not bought in to the party line that prevailing wage increases project costs or otherwise harms the state.

According to Fletcher, supporting the building trades in the Michigan House over the prevailing wage issue are Republican representatives Gene DeRossett, Paul DeWeese, Mike Kowall, Randy Richardville, and Sal Rocca.

In the state Senate, Republicans Philip Hoffman, Mike Goschka, John Schwartz have likewise supported prevailing wage.