I am as YIMBY as they come regarding zoning, but this is a complete non-sequitur. It also shows a casual disregard for basic republican values: the right to freely associate and to withhold one's labor.
An international comparative perspective, as well as a regional perspective, do not suggest that construction union density can explain the widespread housing affordability crisis in the U.S.
Only 12.6% of American construction workers are union, and residential construction is a less union dense subsector than commercial real-estate or large-scale infrastructure.
Many countries have both dramatically lower housing costs and higher union density in the construction trades that the United States [1].
Within the U.S., it's clear there are problems provisioning housing where construction workers on residential projects are rarely if ever union (e.g. Virginia, Florida).
> I am as YIMBY as they come regarding zoning, but this is a complete non-sequitur. It also shows a casual disregard for basic republican values: the right to freely associate and to withhold one's labor.
It does no such thing. Rather, it's noting that unions raise the cost of many things they are associated with; especially construction. The value added by the union being in place isn't being questioned (or even commented on). Just the fact that they add cost.
The same is true of safety regulations. Those regulations (generally) add a lot of value by keeping people safe/alive. But every safety regulation _also_ adds to the cost. Pointing out that they add to the cost in no way belittles their benefit or the desire to have them.
I am as YIMBY as they come regarding zoning, but this is a complete non-sequitur. It also shows a casual disregard for basic republican values: the right to freely associate and to withhold one's labor.
An international comparative perspective, as well as a regional perspective, do not suggest that construction union density can explain the widespread housing affordability crisis in the U.S.
Only 12.6% of American construction workers are union, and residential construction is a less union dense subsector than commercial real-estate or large-scale infrastructure.
Many countries have both dramatically lower housing costs and higher union density in the construction trades that the United States [1].
Within the U.S., it's clear there are problems provisioning housing where construction workers on residential projects are rarely if ever union (e.g. Virginia, Florida).
1. https://data.oecd.org/price/housing-prices.htm