A CA Assembly bill designed to give construction workers a huge raise has come under fire from builders and elected leaders saying that AB199 would put homes out of reach for millions of people.
Democratic assemblymember Kansen Chu of San Jose introduced the bill which would force home builders to pay a “prevailing wage” on many housing projects.
He believes it would offer a fair wage. AB199 has the backing of a Construction Labor Union, but Mike Prandini of the Building Industry Association says a prevailing wage hike would make it difficult to build a home for under $350,000.
Construction workers, whether they were roofers or laborers cleaning up sites, would be paid much more, sometimes as much as 3-4 times more.
“That drives up the cost of a single-family residential home by $30,000 to $60,000,” Dennis Gaab with Benchmark Communities said.
“And it takes a significant portion of the population out of the affordability range.”
Assembly Bill 199 is expected to go before the appropriations committee in the next few weeks.
If it passes, watch for other Construction Labor Unions to push for passage in other states. This could have a devastating effect on all site built housing. Let’s hope that off-site housing does not fall under this law.
