RegComm Recap — Labor, Housing, and the Future of Construction with Scott Littlehale from the Nor Cal Carpenters Union
On Wednesday, 2/19, HAC’s Regulatory Committee hosted Scott Littlehale of the Northern California Carpenters to discuss the state of the construction labor market, the challenges facing trades workers, and policy solutions to improve wages, working conditions, and housing production. Scott provided a deep dive into the shifting labor landscape and its impact on housing development. He emphasized the interconnectedness of worker protections, construction productivity, and housing supply, arguing that strengthening labor standards is key to increasing output and affordability.
Scott posed current challenges in the Construction workforce:
Declining Labor Pool: The "traditional" workforce has shrunk due to an aging immigrant population and younger workers opting for higher education over trades.
Shifting Workforce Composition: Increasing numbers of non-trades workers are entering construction, while members of key trades like Carpenters, Laborers, Supervisors, and Plumbers have declined. Only electricians have grown, likely due to increased electrification efforts.
Stagnant Productivity: Unlike other industries, construction productivity hasn’t kept pace with inflation, making cost increases harder to absorb.
Dysfunctional Labor Standards: The issue isn’t labor itself but poor working conditions, lack of benefits, wage theft risks, and long commutes—all of which make careers in the trades less attractive.
Aging Workforce & Career Sustainability: With physically demanding work and limited paths for older workers, many age out by 55 unless they can transition to less demanding remodel work.
Residential Construction Pay Gap: Wages for residential specialty contractors are 30% lower than nonresidential construction, exacerbating workforce shortages.
Dependence on the Social Safety Net: Many residential construction workers rely on social services due to insufficient wages and benefits.
While the problems facing the labor industry are stark and varied, Scott proposed a series of tangible solutions to the issues outlined above:
Raise wages and benefits to attract and retain workers, including portable fringe benefits like universal healthcare. This also includes improving working conditions to make construction a viable long-term career.
Introduce policies that help eliminate delays and uncertain housing production timelines — smooth housing production cycles create stable employment.
Expand apprenticeship programs and skill training to increase productivity and workforce retention.
Explore factory-based construction solutions to enhance efficiency.
Scott highlighted state policies that support labor protections and streamline housing production:
AB 2011 (Wicks, 2022) – Allows streamlined housing in commercial corridors with prevailing wage and labor standards.
SB 423 (Wiener, 2023) – Extends and expands SB 35 housing streamlining.
SB 4 (Wiener, 2023) – Unlocks faith-based and nonprofit higher education-owned land for affordable housing.
AB 3190 – Expands prevailing wage requirements for publicly subsidized affordable housing projects.
The discussion underscored the need for stronger collective bargaining, labor protections, and policy alignment to ensure that construction careers remain viable while also delivering more housing. Discussions about solving the housing crisis are often centered around the byzantine rules and regulations that dictate where, what type, and how much new housing can be built. Scott’s presentation illuminates that we can’t ignore labor and how strong labor standards are an essential piece in solving the housing shortage and affordability puzzle.
We look forward to continued engagement with Nor Cal Carpenters and other labor advocates to push for sustainable solutions that support both workers and housing production.
