OPINION OF THE COURT
We hold that a municipal vessel is a public work within the meaning of Labor Law § 220 and article I, § 17 of the State Constitution—so that workers involved in its construction, maintenance or repair must be paid prevailing wages—if the vessel’s primary objective is to benefit the general public.
I
Plaintiffs were employed by defendant Caddell Dry Dock & Repair Co., Inc. (Caddell), which operates six floating dry docks on Staten Island, where workers repair, refurbish and maintain vessels for various tug and barge companies, and for the City of New York. The vessels serviced there have included the Staten Island Ferry vessels, New York City fireboats, and New York City Department of Sanitation garbage barges. In September 2002, plaintiffs, as third-party beneficiaries of contracts between Caddell and New York City agencies, began this action against Caddell and its sureties, seeking enforcement of contractual provisions requiring the payment of the prevailing
Following discovery, defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint on the ground that no “public work” was involved. Plaintiffs cross-moved for partial summary judgment as to liability. Supreme Court denied plaintiffs’ cross motion and granted defendants’ motion, dismissing the complaint. The Appellate Division affirmed, holding that it was “constrained” by our decision in Brukhman v Giuliani (
II
Pursuant to Labor Law § 220, contractors engaged in public projects must pay their workers wages and supplemental benefits that “shall be not less than the prevailing rate for a day’s work in the same trade or occupation in the locality within the state where such public work . . . is to be situated, erected or used” (Labor Law § 220 [3] [a]). The substance of the statutory requirement dates to the 1890s.
“[n]o laborer, worker or mechanic, in the employ of a contractor or sub-contractor engaged in the performance of any public work, . . . shall ... be paid less than the rate of wages prevailing in the same trade or occupation in the locality within the state where such public work is to be situated, erected or used.”
In the past, we adopted a two-prong test to determine whether a particular project is bound by the constitutional prevailing wage rate requirement, namely the standard set out in Matter of Erie County Indus. Dev. Agency v Roberts (
III
The term “public work” is used in two, distinct ways: first, to denote a public undertaking or endeavor performed by workers, and second, to refer to the physical product of such work.
Labor Law § 220 and the constitutional provision have some common language: a laborer, worker, or mechanic, employed by a contractor or subcontractor upon a public work, shall not be paid less than the rate of wages prevailing “in the same trade
IV
Our case law makes clear that Labor Law § 220 “is an attempt by the State to hold its territorial subdivisions to a standard of social justice in their dealings with laborers, workmen and mechanics. It is to be interpreted with the degree of liberality essential to the attainment of the end in view” (Austin v City of New York,
Here, the Appellate Division believed itself to be bound by Brukhman v Giuliani. That case presented the “question whether the prevailing wage provision of the New York State Constitution (art I, § 17) applies to public assistance beneficiaries who are statutorily required to participate in a Work Experience Program ... as a condition of continued receipt of monetary grants” from the New York City Department of Social Services (Brukhman,
We held that the recipients were not entitled to the requested prevailing wage calculations for two principal reasons. They were not “in the employ of’ anyone within the meaning of the constitutional provision (id. at 395-396). Additionally, “a department of a municipality—even though it may enter into agreements with the municipality to provide Program positions— does not qualify as a ‘contractor or subcontractor’ within the meaning of the constitutional provision” and “the other entities cooperating with the Work Experience referrals do not fall within the classification of construction and organized labor-related contractors” (id. at 395). Although at one point we stated that “plaintiffs were not engaged in ‘public work’ within the envisioned scope of that constitutional term of art” (id. at 393), we noted that “since plaintiffs do not meet the other requisites of this constitutional entitlement, we need not parse these facial claims to determine whether some might be deemed to squeeze into the ‘public work’ column” (id. at 396). To the extent we decided the issue, our holding was that the recipients were not employed upon “public works” simply because they
V
The current edition of Black’s Law Dictionary defines “public works” as “[structures (such as roads or dams) built by the government for public use and paid for by public funds” (Black’s Law Dictionary 1746 [9th ed 2009]). More pertinently, given the nineteenth-century origin of the law we are concerned with, the first edition of Black’s Law Dictionary defined “public works” as “[w]orks, whether of construction or adaptation, undertaken and carried out by the national, state, or municipal authorities, and designed to subserve some purpose of public necessity, use, or convenience; such as public buildings, roads, aqueducts, parks, etc.” (Black’s Law Dictionary 964 [1st ed 1891]; see also Black’s Law Dictionary 1231 [2d ed 1910] [same]).
Similarly broad definitions of “public works” are found in other dictionaries—“works such as roads, railways, bridges, etc. constructed for public use or service at public cost” (Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged 1368 [25th ed 1950]); “works (as schools, highways, docks) constructed for public use or enjoyment especially] when financed and owned by the government” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 1006 [11th ed 2003]); or “construction or engineering operations carried out by or for the State or local government on behalf of the community” (The Oxford English
Two central aspects of the meaning of “public works” may be discerned from the dictionaries—public works are works paid for by public funds and made for public use or other benefit. Although the illustrative examples given in dictionary entries are frequently fixed structures, it is clear that the notion that a “public work” must be attached to the land is not part of its central meaning.
VI
We therefore conclude that a three-prong test should be applied to determine whether a particular project is subject to the prevailing wage requirements of Labor Law § 220 and article I, § 17 of the State Constitution. First, a public agency must be a party to a contract involving the employment of laborers, workers, or mechanics. Second, the contract must concern a project that primarily involves construction-like labor and is paid for by public funds. Third, the primary objective or function of the work product must be the use or other benefit of the general public.
We recognize that this test will have to be applied on a case-by-case basis in order for its contours to be fully explored. Our holding is consistent, however, with Appellate Division cases ruling that a work is not public when—although “it serves a public function” such as “the rehabilitation of neighborhoods” (Vulcan Affordable Hous. Corp.,
As to the facts underlying this appeal, the application of the law is straightforward. Plaintiffs worked on such vessels as the Staten Island Ferry boats, city fireboats, and municipal garbage barges. A ferry boat is, of course, made for the use of the general public, as is a bus or train. While we recognize that a fireboat, tug or barge is not made to be used by the public, there is no doubt that its function is to serve the general public. For example, a New York City fireboat is used by firefighters for the
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability granted.
Chief Judge Lippman and Judges Graffeo, Read, Smith and Riveba concur; Judge Abdus-Salaam taking no part.
Order reversed, with costs, and plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability granted.
Notes
. On appeal from an order dismissing plaintiffs’ claims, the Appellate Division reinstated two of plaintiffs’ claims, breach of contract against Caddell and joint and several liability against the sureties (see
. The particular language quoted from section 220 was contained in L 1899, ch 567, § 1. As Judge Cardozo wrote,
“[t]he public policy of the State declared by successive Legislatures during a period of thirty years (L. 1897, ch. 415; L. 1899, ch. 567; L. 1900, ch. 298; L. 1906, ch. 506; L. 1909, ch. 292; L. 1913, ch. 494; L. 1916, ch. 152; L. 1921, ch. 642) exacts the payment of the rate of wages prevailing in the vicinage to laborers and mechanics employed upon the public works” (Campbell v City of New York,244 NY 317 , 324 [1927]; see also L 1894, ch 622).
. For example, in NY Constitution, article I, § 17, the term is used initially in the first sense (“in the performance of any public work”) and then in the second sense (“where such public work is to be situated, erected or used”).
. It is true that for a time Black’s Law Dictionary included, as a second, alternative definition, the words “[a]ll fixed works constructed for public use” (see Black’s Law Dictionary 1856 [3d ed 1933], citing State v A.H. Read Co., 33 Wyo 387, 399,
. Merriam-Webster’s Third New International Dictionary favors a narrower definition (see Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged 1836 [2002]) incorporating the word “fixed.”