University construction projects financed by private donors could be required to pay workers set wages if a proposed Oregon state bill gets approval.
With the passage of House Bill 2629, University mega-donors such as Phil Knight would have to pay hourly wages, benefits and overtime ­— rates set by the Bureau of Labor and Industries — to employees involved in the performance of public work.
Projects in which the University leases land to private companies — which in the past has exempted philanthropists like Knight from many laws governing the creation of public buildings — would now be classified as “public work.”
To what extent the law is specifically aimed at Knight is unclear, but the Nike cofounder has used similar lease-build arrangements for several recent capital improvement projects, including the $40 million John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes and the pending remodel of the Len Casanova Center.
According to the bill’s summary, the definition of “public works” would be amended to include “construction, reconstruction, painting or major renovation of road, highway, building, structure or improvement that occurs, with or without using  (public) funds … on land that (the) Oregon University System … owns or will use, occupy and ultimately own under lease-purchase agreement.”
The bill was introduced by House Democrat Rep. Mike Schaufler at the request of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council — an organization of construction industry labor unions.
The legislature held a public hearing Feb. 28 regarding the bill, which would be enforceable on projects commencing after Jan. 1, 2012, if signed into law.
Critics of Knight’s gifts contend that because the buildings will belong to the public after the grand opening ribbons have been cut, they should be defined as “public projects” from the outset.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the public’s building, it’s going to be operated and maintained by the public, and so it should be an open and transparent process,” John Mohlis, executive secretary of the council, told the Register-Guard.
However, the new law would not prevent benefactors like Knight from declining such wages for projects to which they provide partial funding.
University spokespersons have professed the University’s compliance with the bill, saying that most campus projects already incorporate wage standards.
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