How could this happen?

Apparently American construction workers are just too greedy and unreasonable. When was the last time the Americans built anything close to the “Great Wall”

git er done

The only thing I have to say is union wages. Very sad, but true.

Well, what could the government do to change that?

The Free Market™ at work.

@Dutchess_III
They could just give the contracts to colonial contractors.
Nationalism is a sufficient justification for governments, in the eyes of the funding populace, to value that higher than the lower costs of foreign competitors, unlike private companies who, and whose shareholders, only care about money.
They did that with the tanker aeroplane contract that they first awarded to EADS, and then backpedaled after lobbying by Boeing, and then gave it to Boeing.

Could you explain the sentence “Nationalism is a sufficient justification for governments….,” a little more for me @ragingloli?

The Chinese firms came in with the lowest bid. And thanks to various states laws on bidding contracts, the lowest bidder is selected.

The common “buy american” slogan. ‘Support our economy, not the enemy’s.’ ‘Keep american money in america.’
Public projects are taxpayer funded, so you if you appeal to the mob’s nationalism, they will be fine with it, despite the higher costs, unlike shareholders in a private company, especially if the cheaper competitor is chinese, the evil communist nemesis.
You do not even have to be explicit. Just call it ‘macro economic considerations to strengthen the domestic economy and middle class companies’.
And you basically have to do that, because there is no way you will be cheaper than the chinese wage slaves.

Here is additional information on the California project. The ABC report is misleading.

They aren’t doing it independent of us. My son worked on the bridge, working for Pacific Erectors. He said there were some Chinese there, working for Kwan Wo Steel, but they were mostly welders.

That is what the story I linked explains, @filmfann. It doesn’t mention your son specifically though. ;-)

Well, a company out of Spain bid on & won the right to build a Toll Road that will link Hwy 635 to I-35 in Dallas, TX. The decision to award the building of this Toll Road to the Spanish company originated on the TX state level, approved by Gov. Rick Perry (Republican). The same Republican governor who appointed Republicans to the TX State Utility Commission & then approved their decision to increase our electric rates by 50% by the end of 2012 & by 150% by the end of 2013.

You know, it’s not like they’re importing Chinese coolies as slave laborers on the project.

American contractors have been building projects overseas for decades. I see no reason why a Chinese (or any other nationality) contractor shouldn’t be selected for work on American projects. I’ll have to check this out, and maybe update my résumé.

The tender to re-tile our local airport was I believe won by a Chinese company. They must have put in the cheapest bid. The newspapers have also been reporting that a large mining company is looking to employ a large number of people from overseas to work in the mines. If we can’t provide the labour, they have to get it overseas. We live in a small world these days and just as Australians/Americans bid for work overseas, so too overseas companies bid for work in our countries.

Usually contractors are required to pay prevailing wages for government jobs even if they aren’t union. Wages can’t be the reason.

@Judi, prevailing wage applies to federal contracts or federally assisted contracts. Many states have their own prevailing wage laws, but I’m not sure about the states in question.

If there are Chinese nationals being employed then they would be on a temporary work visa and therefore not eligible for any Davis /Bacon provisions? Is that a correct assumption? The American contractors and their sub contractors might be.

What is the Davis/Bacon provision?

@Dutchess_III, it is another lesson in republican leadership and values in American history. US Congressman Robert Bacon and US Senator James Davis, both republicans, from Long Island and Pennsylvania, respectively, worked to get this legislation passed in 1931.