We remain in the midst of an alarming labor shortage in the construction industry, leading to many headaches across the board. While this is true, a new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) points out that when it comes to projects being finished on time and worker retention, unionized firms perform far better.
A hot real estate market can be good news, but when it collides with a worker shortage, it can be bad news when it comes to timely project completion and hiring crew members. Nonunion firms are hit particularly hard. On the other hand, union firms offer better wages, benefits and training, and therefore find it easier to find and retain workers, leading to projects being completed on time.
In order to help fix the labor shortage, the authors of the report suggest promoting access to joint labor management apprenticeship programs, bringing back prevailing wage laws to set standard wages, making it less “onerous” to organize workers, improving access to childcare, and providing paid leave.
The bottom line remains that if you want the work done on time with enough crew to handle the project, then hire union contractors. And as always, you’ll also be getting the best trained and most safety conscious experts for the job. Find out more.