LANSING - The building trades and other working class people dodged three more bullets in the state legislature last week, avoiding some pretty major legislation that would have prevented municipalities from passing or enforcing "living wage" and prevailing wage ordinances.

Earlier this month, in the "lame duck" session following the Nov. 7 election, the Michigan Senate passed a resolution, 20-16, that would have prevented communities from enacting, enforcing or maintaining wage requirements higher than Michigan's $5.15 per hour minimum wage. The bill would have struck down living wage ordinances already adopted in Detroit, Warren, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Twp.

The bill died in the House, where it lacked support. But what died along with it was an amendment to the bill that also would have thrown out and prevented local prevailing wage ordinances for municipally funded construction projects.

In fact, said Michigan AFL-CIO Legislative Assistant Ken Fletcher, the presence of the prevailing wage amendment probably tipped the scales, and helped convince four Republican House members not to support the entire package.

"My guess is that we haven't heard the last of this one," Fletcher said. "I would expect they'll take it up again next year."

The four Republicans House members who helped out on saving prevailing wage were Gene DeRossett, Jennifer Faunce, Randy Richardville, Sue Rocca.

Fletcher said even the anti-union ABC backed off on the issue, because legislators were talking about another amendment to the bill that would have put language in state law that specifically protects prevailing wage on local construction projects.

Two other bills that were obnoxious to organized labor never saw the light of day. On Nov. 14, the Michigan Senate adopted bills 1356 and 1357, which were intended to create a legal way for school districts to shift the ownership of their school buildings to private developers, in effect privatizing them. If adopted, new construction or remodeling of existing school buildings could take place without the worker wage protections assured by the Michigan Prevailing Wage Act, one of the most important laws on the books that upholds the standards of building trades workers' wages.

Fletcher said the legislation, which specifically involved Grand Rapids, died in the state House for lack of votes. Gov. Engler was said to have some major problems with the proposal because it would have resulted in a reduction in funds going into the state treasury.