A California proposal to create a $28 hourly minimum wage for some residential construction workers has been shelved for the year after strong opposition from a powerful coalition of building trades unions.
Assembly Bill 1751 would speed approval for new townhouse projects in California. Developers using the streamlined process would have been required to pay construction workers at least $28 an hour.
That wage requirement was removed during a hearing before the Senate Housing Committee after Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat and co-author of the bill, said the change was necessary because of firm opposition from the State Building and Construction Trades Council.
Sen. Jesse Arreguín, a Berkeley Democrat who chairs the committee, made removal of the wage provision a condition for moving the bill forward. He said lawmakers would continue working on a separate approach to establish a minimum pay standard that could gain support from all sides, including the Building Trades.
The State Building and Construction Trades Council represents unionized electricians, plumbers, sheet metal workers and other skilled trades. The coalition had opposed the measure since its introduction in April, arguing that the proposed wage floor could weaken federally determined prevailing wage standards, which set higher pay requirements on publicly funded construction projects.
California’s unionized carpenters, who often clash with the Building Trades over housing policy, disagreed. They argued that residential construction workers are rarely employed on projects governed by federal public works wage rules. AB 1751 is sponsored by the New California Coalition, a centrist advocacy organization made up largely of business groups.
After lawmakers agreed to remove the wage requirement, the Building Trades shifted to a neutral position on the bill. Many of its members attended the hearing in opposition before the change was made.
The bill advanced out of the Senate Housing Committee, though several Democratic lawmakers voiced disappointment that the pay provision had been stripped.
Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Long Beach Democrat, said some workers need wages above the state minimum.
Wicks also expressed frustration, saying raising the floor from $16 to $28 should have been a straightforward step for Democratic lawmakers.
AB 1751 still faces uncertainty. Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a Democrat who serves on the Housing Committee, said the latest amendments did not resolve her concerns that the bill would bypass local control over land-use decisions. Durazo chairs the Senate Local Government Committee, where the measure is scheduled to be heard next.
Original source: CalMatters
