Affordable housing bills stall over union labor requirements

As California’s housing crisis deepens, state bills meant to promote affordable development have stalled over union labor requirements.

A handful of bills are stuck in the Assembly over their labor mandates, including two that are part of a housing package proposed by Senate Majority Leader Toni Atkins, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

The bills in question require that a portion of the workforce that builds housing be graduates of apprenticeship programs most often run by unions.

That requirement is strongly backed by the State Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group of unions representing more than 450,000 construction workers.

Some lawmakers, along with affordable housing developers, oppose the requirement. They argue that it reduces the pool of eligible workers available to develop much-needed housing.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon is said to be holding up the bills. That’s in part because the Trades Council financed attack ads against an ally in 2018, sources said, according to the report.

The stalled bills include SB 6 that would allow multifamily housing on some commercial properties and SB 330, that promotes workforce and student housing development in community college districts.
State lawmakers are on recess until mid-August.

[LADN] — Dennis Lynch