Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1952 [PAGE 1105]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1202

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[September 19

general prevailing rate of per diem wages for legal holiday and overtime work to all laborers, workmen and mechanics engaged in construction work on this project. The owner has made an investigation and has been unable to ascertain the existence at the present time of any prevailing rate of wage for any class of work required to be performed under this proposed contract.

The letter had been referred by the Secretary of the Board to the Director of Nonacademic Personnel and the Legal Counsel for advice. The latter stated that after studying the Act regulating wages of laborers, mechanics, and other workmen employed under contracts for public works, including amendments thereof enacted by the Sixtyseventh General Assembly in 1951, he was unable to find any legal basis for the protest. An exhaustive study was made approximately a year ago by a fact-finding committee on which there were representatives of labor and the University. This Committee reported, under date of July 31, 1950, that rates paid for work in the building trades and crafts in Piatt County, Illinois, are subject to so much variation that it is not possible to establish single rates as prevailing. The Director of Nonacademic Personnel and the Director of Robert Allerton Park have advised the Legal Counsel that, to the best of their knowledge, the situation with respect to rates of wages now prevailing in Piatt County is the same as it was when they conducted their investigation a little over a year ago and that there exists in that county no collective bargaining agreement between an employer and employees covering rates of wages for work of the character of that contemplated by the contract for the construction of sewage facilities at Robert Allerton Park. The amendment referred to in the above letter does not authorize the State Department of Labor "to designate the rates to be used as prevailing where no established rate exists"; the amendment merely authorizes the Department to investigate violations of and to enforce the law. The law defines the geographical areas affected by it but does not recognize such jurisdictional claims as are set forth in the above letter. It was, therefore, mandatory upon the University in complying with the Act to include in the published notice calling for proposals the statement to which the letter from the Twin City Federation of Labor objects. At the conclusion of this discussion, the Legal Counsel was directed to reply to this letter, explaining the legal position of the University and correcting the misconceptions by calling attention to the differences between the claims in the letter on the one hand and the provisions of the law on the other. On motion of Mr. Herrick, the contracts were authorized and the appropriation was made, as recommended, by the following vote: Aye, Mr. Fornof, Mr. Grange, Mr. Herrick, Mrs. Holt, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Livingston, Mr. Nickell, Mrs. Watkins; no, none; absent, Mr. Hickman, Mr. Megran, Mr. Stevenson.

CONTRACTS FOR REMODELING IN NOYES LABORATORY

(18) For the past several years the University has been carrying on a program of remodeling in the Noyes Laboratory of Chemistry to reduce fire hazards. This has included the construction of fireproof stairwells at the north and south corner of the west wing to replace the center stairs which constituted a major hazard. The closing of the center stairs has made available additional fk>or space. The Com-