Tartaglione Prevailing Wage Bill Passes Senate

Harrisburg, PA, June 10, 2026 - Legislation authored by State Senators Christine Tartaglione (D-2, Philadelphia) and Frank Farry (R-6, Bucks) to strengthen Pennsylvania's Prevailing Wage Act passed the Senate today with bipartisan support.

Senate Bill 908 would close a long-standing gap in the law by extending prevailing wage protections to off-site custom fabrication work for public construction projects. The bill reflects modern construction practices, where critical components such as plumbing, HVAC, welding, iron work, boiler systems, and electrical systems are often fabricated safely and efficiently off-site before installation.

"Pennsylvania's prevailing wage law was created to ensure fairness for workers and contractors on public projects, but the current law leaves too many skilled workers without fair compensation simply because their work happens off-site," Senator Tartaglione said. "This bill restores the spirit of the law by recognizing that custom fabrication is essential to modern construction and deserves the same prevailing wage standards as on-site work."

The Prevailing Wage Act, enacted in 1961, was intended to level the playing field for contractors bidding on public works projects. However, the law's focus on on-site labor created a loophole that excluded many Pennsylvania workers performing specialized fabrication and assembly work in local shops and facilities.

Senate Bill 908 would help protect those skilled jobs, support fair competition among contractors, and keep more tax revenue and economic activity in Pennsylvania communities.

"A lot of labor and craftsmanship goes into a public construction project before materials ever arrive on-site," Tartaglione said. "Whether it's fabricated in a workshop or installed in the field, it is still essential construction work, and the workers doing it deserve fair wages."

This legislation faced three amendments offered by Senator Martin (R-13, Lancaster) and Senator Keefer (R-31, Cumberland & York) on the floor that would have raised the floor requiring prevailing wage from $25,000 to $2,500,000, eliminated provisions in the bill extending the prevailing wage to custom fabrication, and restricting the bill's scope to only the City of Philadelphia, but a Democratic majority of Senators voted to table the amendments allowing the bill to pass cleanly. Senator Tartaglione applauds her colleagues for standing with Pennsylvania's tradesmen and tradeswomen in helping this important legislation move forward.

Tartaglione also credited former Senator Tommy Tomlinson with helping bring attention to the issue with her several years ago and thanked labor organizations for their partnership in advancing the bill.

The legislation now moves to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for consideration.

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