GMCS Editorial: While we would ask all readers to consider the
source of this Ed/Op, we are merely providing it as an additional point of reference
for an industry discussion that we regularly engage in within the region. While labor costs are always a significant
source of any project’s costs, there are other factors outside of labor that
have impact a project, yet are rarely addressed and or even discussed. Based on a recent Econsult
report on our region’s construction industry, and another presentation from
the Center City Development District, copies available upon request, stating that ““Rents
in the city & suburbs are almost identical But Philadelphia’s taxes: BIRT
& U&O add 20% to 30% premium + impact of the wage tax.”, we should
be looking at the issue of cost of development/construction from a global perspective
should we ever truly be interested in creating effective and lasting solutions.
Land, fees, and other costs drive price surge more than
labor
SHIRLEY LEUNG’S June 4 column on the “deafening whisper
campaign” that attributes the high cost of building middle class housing to
overpaid union construction workers is a shallow and misguided analysis
(“Chance for union-backed mayor to tackle labor costs,” Page A1). Yes, there is
a housing crisis, and all hands need to be on deck to achieve the city’s goal of
20,000 to 30,000 new units. But labor makes up less than 25 percent of total
housing production costs and is rising far more slowly than land, fees, and
other soft costs.
The reality on the ground is that hundreds of non-luxury
units are under construction in East Boston, Allston-Brighton, and Jamaica
Plain — all with union labor. Further, our members have built most of the
non-profit development community’s affordable housing in Boston’s
neighborhoods.
Sadly, Leung has listened to a handful of whisperers
comfortably located in up-market offices and condos who seek to eliminate the
job opportunities of the very men and women who are the middle class Bostonians
that the city’s housing policy is designed to accommodate.
Mark Erlich
Executive secretary-treasurer
New England Regional Council of Carpenters - Boston
Source: Letters
- The Boston Globe
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