President's Bold Action on Davis-Bacon Will Aid the Relief Effort
By suspending David-Bacon, the President has strengthened relief efforts.
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By suspending David-Bacon, the President has strengthened relief efforts.
Rachel researches and analyzes taxes, Social Security, disability insurance, and pensions to promote economic growth. A construction worker makes repairs on the intersection of Church Avenue and Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn borough on April 06, 2021 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images Key Takeaways Congress passed the act in 1931 to preclude non-unionized Black and immigrant workers from receiving jobs on federal construction projects. The Davis-Bacon Act drives up federal construction costs by about 10%, costing taxpayers an estimated...
Congress passed the act in 1931 to preclude non-unionized Black and immigrant workers — many of whom migrated to the North to look for work during the Great Recession — from receiving jobs on federal construction projects. During the 1931 legislative debate over the Davis-Bacon Act, Rep. Miles Allgood, Alabama Democrat, said, “That contractor has cheap labor colored labor … and it is labor of that sorts that is in competition with white labor throughout the country.” And American Federation of Labor President William Green lobbied for the bill, complaining that, “Colored labor is ...