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July 10, 2009

Union Wages make Obama's Energy Efficiency Program Inefficient

Jerome J. Schmitt
Paying union labor $50-60.00/hour to caulk windows makes Obama's "Weatherization Program" too costly to ever pay off as an "energy efficiency measure".  That is the kernal of truth reported by NPR here: "Weatherization Program Hits Rough Stretch" by Elizabeth Shogren:

Congress mandated that prevailing wages under the Davis-Bacon act must be paid to workers employed with "stimulous" funding.  They decided that prevailing construction wages are the the benchmark for comparison, meaning nearly $60.00/hour in New York and over $50.00/hour in Chicago.  This of course makes "weatherization" of houses so costly it can never be paid back in "energy cost savings".

This whole conundrum has stymied initiation of the program -- an example of why the "stimulus funding" is not being spent. 

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