Having faced criticism from both parties on the issue, President Bush has decided to lift an order that had allowed federal contractors on Hurricane Katrina reconstruction projects to pay workers less than the local prevailing wage. The prevailing wage is usually close to the wage level set in local union contracts. Critics had said that waiving the prevailing-wage requirement allowed employers to pay "poverty wages."
See "Prevailing-Wage Curb for Storm Work Ends", Edwin Chen, Los Angeles Times, October 26, 2005