Pennsylvania State Rep. Tina Pickett (R) introduced a measure that would require the state Department of Labor and Industry to classify broadband infrastructure workers as “teledata employees” instead of “electric linemen.” The reclassification would reduce the salaries and benefits collected by broadband workers under prevailing wage law, freeing federal broadband expansion funding to be used for other purposes, according to NorthcentralPA.com. Pennsylvania received $1.16 billion in BEAD funding to assist in the expansion of high-speed broadband infrastructure across the state.
“This legislation puts into state law appropriate job classifications for broadband work like is done in many other states. Without this bill, federal money for broadband deployment projects won’t go nearly as far, meaning that people in rural areas of the state will be further left behind,” added Todd Eachus, president of the Broadband Communications Association of Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has so far rejected a request to change the classification, according to NorthcentralPA.com.
“Electric linemen do highly skilled and potentially dangerous work — and they are paid accordingly — but when their wage rates are applied inappropriately to teledata workers, it means labor costs on broadband infrastructure projects will be artificially inflated,” said Pickett. “Ultimately, this means fewer rural residents will gain access to high-speed broadband internet through the federal funding allocated to Pennsylvania.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions