Hartford Courant: Connecticut got this one right: custom fabrication protections are a win for workers and our state
Connecticut got this one right: custom fabrication protections are a win for workers and our state
By Paul Massimo
As a proud member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 40, I’ve spent my career building Connecticut’s infrastructure. For years, I’ve seen firsthand how contractors find a way to shortchange workers by shifting skilled construction work into off-site fabrication shops where the law could be ignored and wages suppressed. Senate Bill 1370, now law, corrects that injustice. Thanks to the relentless advocacy of working people, our state took a decisive step toward fairness, equity, and stronger labor standards by extending prevailing wage protections to off-site custom fabrication.
Let’s be clear about what that means: more jobs staying local, more accountability in public construction, and more workers getting the fair pay they’ve earned—no matter where they perform the work.
Some have tried to twist the truth about what this bill does. They claim it creates confusion or adds cost. That’s wrong. SB 1370 closes a loophole that allowed companies to shift work off-site to avoid paying fair wages, cheat workers out of fair pay, and undercut responsible contractors. It draws a clear line: if the work is custom-built for a public construction project, whether it happens in a fabrication shop or on a job site, this is skilled labor, and it deserves skilled pay.
SB 1370 restores a level playing field for contractors who do right by their workers and communities and keep our industries safe. It encourages local custom fabrication and supports those shops that hire in-state and pay a fair wage. It also strengthens Connecticut’s ability to build the infrastructure we need. With prefabrication, we can build smarter.
This is what modernization should look like: a future where we use cutting-edge building techniques while protecting the people doing the work. A future where we don’t pit cost savings against fairness but instead pursue both. A future where local, skilled labor is prioritized and protected.
Make no mistake, this didn’t happen on its own. It happened because working people stood up, organized, and made their voices heard. It happened because leaders like Senate President Martin Looney, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, House Speaker Matt Ritter, and Governor Ned Lamont stood with us. We thank them, along with key champions like Senator Julie Kushner, Representative Manny Sanchez, and the appropriations chairs, for seeing this fight through. To my own State Senator, Rob Sampson: I hope you’ll stand with working people the next time a bill like this comes to the floor.
Together, we turned decades of advocacy into meaningful change. And we’re not done.
As public construction expands across our state, from school buildings to clean water infrastructure to housing, SB 1370 ensures that we’re not just building faster, we’re building for the future of working families. Custom fabrication shops will no longer be used to drive wages down but they’ll be part of a stronger, more equitable future.
So let’s stop pretending this is controversial. Supporting prevailing wages isn’t radical; it’s responsible. And modernizing how we build doesn’t mean abandoning the standards that generations of workers fought for. We can have both. In fact, we must.
Senate Bill 1370 proves that when workers unite and leaders listen, we can raise standards across the board. It’s a win for labor, a win for local businesses, and a win for Connecticut.
Now let’s build on it.
Paul Massimo is a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 40. He lives in Wolcott, Connecticut.
