The unions are issuing demands, just like student groups often do. How ironic.
The College Fix reports:
Labor unions fight against housing for UC Berkeley studentsTwo labor unions are trying to slow down an affordable housing project aimed at University of California Berkeley students until their demands are met.The Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County and the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council are asking the city to intervene against a developer’s plan to build 169 apartment units.The developer’s primary focus is to provide housing to UC Berkeley students, who face a tight rental market.The unions argue in an appeal that the developer should be required to follow an ordinance that includes higher wages and safety and apprenticeship standards. A follow-up hearing will be held next year in February to consider the permit approval.The university has long been beset by housing issues, commissioning a task force in 2017 to look into the issue. Most students, around 75 percent, do not live in campus housing, according to U.S. News and World Report.An attorney representing the unions told The College Fix that the developer should be held to the labor standards passed by the city council. She also commented on a Fix question about higher wages leading to more expensive housing.“When drafting, considering, and ultimately passing the labor standards in the HARD HATS Ordinance and Southside Plan, the City Council and City staff were trying to strike this very balance,” Jolene Kramer told The Fix via email. “That is why, for example, the requirements only apply to larger projects.”“The HARD HATS Ordinance does not require workers to be members of a union; rather, it requires all contractors to compensate their employees fairly, provide good quality health care, and invest in apprenticeship training,” Kramer told The Fix.The exemptions “would have a specific, adverse impact upon public health and safety,” according to a letter sent to the city by Kramer.
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