Workers are putting down picket signs after Port KC closed a loophole in its project financing that allowed developers to pay lower wages than Missouri’s prevailing wage standards.
Why it matters: Construction is booming across the city, and after weeks of picketing over wages at Port KC-backed projects, union workers say the new rule is a step forward, even as they push for more.
What’s inside: The rule requires Port KC contracts to mandate Missouri’s minimum hourly pay for construction workers — known as the prevailing wage — on bond-financed sale-leaseback projects, closing a loophole that allowed developers to pay workers below the minimum.
- The rates vary by profession and county, with elevator constructors in Jackson County earning more than $100 per hour.
- Port KC’s rule applies to logistics, industrial, data and office projects exceeding $3 million, as well as to hotels, multifamily and mixed-use projects exceeding $15 million.
- Port KC will audit worker pay and levy fines against developers for every day a worker is underpaid, multiplied by the number of underpaid workers.
Caveat: Port KC can grant exemptions on housing and hotel projects in lower-income areas and for historic buildings, as well as for any project receiving KCMO’s Central City Economic Development Sales Tax…