DAVENPORT, IOWA (May 13, 2019) — At a news conference today at 1PM in Jetty Park on the Bettendorf Riverfront overlooking the I-74 bridge-construction, a diverse group of local business-owners, labor-leaders, and community group and trade association representatives will make public its opposition to the Iowa Department of Transportation Federal Aid Swap program as a “cynical attempt to circumvent federal regulations.” Under the Iowa DOT Swap program, federal dollars allocated for local construction projects are “swapped” for state dollars in order to “end-run” federal fair-wage requirements, “Buy American” obligations, minority business-hiring incentives, and environmental protections.
The “NO SWAPS” Coalition is urging the Bi-State metropolitan-transportation planning-committee to “opt-out” of the Iowa DOT program that was imposed state-wide in 2018. A vote is scheduled for May 28. So far, “opt-out” supporters include: Associated Contractors of the Quad Cities, Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, Tri-City Building Trades Council, Quad Cities Interfaith, Scott County Democratic Party, Great River Labor Federation, Midwest Economic Policy Institute, National Association of Women in Construction, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Council 10, along with a number of individual federal, state, and local elected officials.
According to coalition spokesperson Andy Waeyaert for the Indiana-Illinois-Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting, “The absence of federal standards entices firms from outside the QCA to “under-bid” local contractors by employing less-qualified, underpaid workers from elsewhere. In turn, this weakens the local economy by reducing the number of jobs and “spending power” for local workers,” Waeyaert said. “This is a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach that fails to consider the long-term adverse economic-impact.” One study authored by the St Paul, Minnesota-based Midwest Economic Policy Institute estimated a $3.5M “hit” to the QCA economy under the Iowa DOT Swap program.
Speaking on behalf of the Associated Contractors of the Quad Cities, Michelle DeCap, CFO of the Port Byron-based Phoenix Corporation, noted that the Federal Aid Swap program also removes “provisions that encourage diversity and benefit minority and women-owned businesses. The consequences of this misguided approach are lower wages and inequality in government-contract award practices,” she said. “All of these are major steps backward for our local economy!” Tri-City Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Director Jerry Lack noted that low-wage contractors from outside the region do not support apprentice-training programs. “For decades, these programs have helped Quad Cities women and men learn the skills they need to land rewarding jobs and family-sustaining wages,” he said.
Representing Quad Cities Interfaith, Reverend Jay Wolin pointed out the Iowa Federal Aid Swap program eliminates the protections of the Buy American Act that helps promote domestic steel production, including several QC-based foundries. Wolin also expressed concern over the lack of National Environmental Policy Act protections under the Iowa Federal Aid Swap program. “Our members are deeply committed to defending the environment and preserving the archeological richness of the area,” he said.
US Representatives Cheri Bustos and Dave Loebsack also called upon the QC Bi-State metropolitan transportation planning committee to “opt-out” of the Iowa DOT program. In a joint letter, dated February 6, 2019, they state: “The 2015 Fixing American Surface Transportation Act guarantees… promoting the purchase of American steel, incentivizing apprenticeship programs and the use of disadvantaged business enterprises, implementing environmental safeguards, and protecting the local workforce by ensuring a prevailing wage…. We believe this practice of swapping funds misuses these resources and urge the Bi-State Commission to opt-out of the program.”
To learn more about the “NO SWAPS” campaign; visit https://noswaps.com/
