By Anthony Camillucci
June 25, 2026
Gov. Ned Lamont has long been a champion for Connecticut’s building trades and understands the importance of accountability when investing taxpayer dollars.
In January 2025, our union approached the governor about a fairness and equity issue affecting public construction projects across the state in several licensed building trades, including plumbing, pipe fitting, and sheet metal.
Under Connecticut law, workers on public projects valued at more than $1 million must be paid the prevailing wage — a rate determined by their trade and the location of the project. Prevailing wage laws help ensure that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly, workers earn a living wage, public infrastructure is built to the highest standards, and projects are completed by a highly trained workforce committed to safety and productivity.
Until July 2025, however, a loophole in the state's prevailing wage law allowed contractors to avoid paying prevailing wages to workers performing custom fabrication off-site — even when that work was specifically designed and manufactured for individual public construction projects and are integral to their successful completion.
As a result, nearly 30% of the work on some projects was excluded from prevailing wage requirements simply because it was performed in a fabrication shop rather than on the job site. Contractors benefited from lower labor costs, while workers performing the same skilled work for the same public project were paid substantially less.
This issue has become increasingly significant as advances in technology have expanded the use of off-site fabrication in plumbing, heating, cooling, pipe fitting, ventilation, and exhaust systems.
When we met with Governor Lamont in early 2025, he immediately recognized the inequity and supported legislation to close the loophole, which took effect on July 1, 2025.
Consider the experience of one of Local 777’s members who testified at the public hearing before the Connecticut General Assembly in support of this legislation. While employed by a Connecticut-based construction contractor, this member worked on projects that were largely covered by prevailing wage requirements. However, when assigned to perform fabrication work in the shop for a public project, he experienced a pay reduction of more than 3%.
He testified that it was degrading to be told he had to work in the shop rather than the field simply because the contractor could save money by exploiting a loophole in the law. Closing this loophole is just one example of Governor Lamont's commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars while ensuring that workers who build, strengthen, and expand Connecticut's infrastructure are treated fairly.
For Connecticut's building trades, what matters most is having leaders who listen to workers and follow through on their commitments. Governor Lamont has consistently demonstrated that partnership.
Connecticut’s workers don't need politicians who just talk a good game or pander for votes. When our members are out in the field building and maintaining our state's most critical infrastructure, we need a partner in the governor’s office who actually rolls up their sleeves to get to work.
Governor Lamont is that champion — he understands that respect for labor isn’t about rhetoric; it’s about the tangible results he delivers for the people who build this state every single day.
As proud members of the State’s Building Trades, we support elected officials who fight for us. When it comes to voting in August and November, it is common sense for us to support Ned Lamont.
Anthony Camillucci is business manager with UA Local 777 Plumbers and Pipefitters in Meriden, which represents 3,200 members across the state.