Union launches new local for light commercial, housing work
BY TONY ILLIA
BUSINESS PRESS
February 20, 2006
Las Vegas is abuzz with building activity. The city's unofficial bird -- the crane -- can be seen rising everywhere throughout the valley. The Strip alone has $24.26 billion worth of resort expansions planned from 2006-09, including 34,639 more hotel rooms, 886 timeshare units, and 1.3 million square feet of added convention space, reported the Las Vegas Convention Visitors Authority.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Construction, not surprisingly, is now one of the valley's fastest growing employers. The industry was responsible for 106,800 jobs in December, a 12.2 percent gain from a year ago, according to the state Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation. It trails only the hospitality sector in terms of new job growth. Local trade unions are reaping the benefits with across-the-board enrollment gains, including the Laborers Union, Local 872.
"We increased our membership by 900 to 1,200 people last year," said Tommy White, secretary-treasurer for Local 872, which now has more than 4,000 people in Clark County. "And we're projecting to add up to 2,000 more members by 2007."
HUGE WORKFORCE FORECAST
Local 872, like trade unions, are ramping up to staff an onslaught of work, including MGM Mirage's $7 billion Project CityCenter, which is expected to use more than 7,000 people at the height of building activity or one-third of Southern Nevada's total construction workforce.
The Laborers local has reciprocal agreements with branches in California, Utah, Arizona, Northern Nevada and Oregon that enable it to swell and shrink in size as needed. Members can shuttle between states without being penalized or charged additional dues.
That situation has enabled Local 872 to reach record enrollment numbers, prompting its expansion plans.
The Laborers recently launched a new local, Local 702, targeting light-commercial and housing work. It is banking on the valley's current skilled worker shortage to aid its foray into traditional nonunion market sectors. Local 702, chartered in November, currently has approximately 350 members working at golf courses, Nellis Air Force Base and hospitals. It's a figure that's expected to increase.
"Depending on their approach, it could be a welcome addition to the local workforce," said Tim Snow, president of Thomas & Mack Development Group. "With all the resort work, mid-sized contractors are becoming shorthanded. But we also don't want to see labor costs escalate as a result of aggressive organizing."
The new local could get a chilly reception from the home-building industry. While residential construction was dominated by union firms during the early 1980s, publicly traded companies like D.R. Horton, KB Homes and Pulte now rule the Las Vegas market.
RECORD HOME SALES
A record 38,517 new homes were sold last year in Southern Nevada, a 30.7 percent increase from the previous year, said Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research Inc.
Union wages for builders will ultimately drive-up construction costs, some fear, leading to even higher home prices. A median new single-family detached home sold for $345,130 in 2005, an 18.9 percent increase over the previous year and 53.1 percent than witnessed more than five years ago, Smith says.
Higher labor costs could make entry-level housing even more elusive in the future.
"We are neither pro nor anti-union," said Monica Caruso, spokesperson for the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, a nonprofit trade group. "We believe that it's a function of the marketplace between home builders and their subcontractors."
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