Austin Interfaith leaders (including representatives from Education Austin) descended on an Austin Independent School District (AISD) meeting to urge Board members to support fair wages for construction workers on AISD-funded projects.  Philip Lawhorn, of member institution International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), urged the Board to adopt the Davis-Bacon wage rate, which relies on federal wage standards for laborers.  AISD is currently using wage rates based on a 2005 study, something Kayvon Sabourian of the Equal Justice Center notes "doesn't cut it in 2014 Austin."

Austin ISD to Reexamine Wage Rates for Construction Workers, Community Impact      

"The switch at Travis Heights has been in the making for nearly three years.  Austin Interfaith, a coalition of schools, churches and unions, and district labor group Education Austin ...reached out to 100 campuses before they found a partner in Travis Heights willing to become a charter. Their volunteers then went door-to-door, garnering support and hosting school meetings to find out what parents and teachers wanted in a school. They reached 90 percent of the school’s households and got 99 percent support from parents and 97 percent support from staff...."

[Photo Credit: Ralph Barrera, Austin American Statesman]

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