SPRINGFIELD — Workers who replace and maintain equipment for the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission — including bridges over the wastewater tanks at Bondi’s Island in Agawam — say they are doing construction on a public works project and deserve more money under the state’s prevailing wage law.
Their employer — Veolia Water Contract Operations USA Inc., which has a deal with the commission lasting until 2040 — argues that the prevailing wage law does not apply because its contract was awarded for expertise, not as lowest bidder; Veolia maintains that the law was meant for the latter, to combat wage shaving. The employer cites a Supreme Judicial Court ruling from 2023.
This is according to sets of motions for summary judgment filed by both parties in late December, as the 2021 case winds its way through U.S. District Court in Springfield.
