Developers claim that the only way affordable housing can be built is if the workers are paid less

Crains New York

Developers of low-cost housing and homelessness advocates say paying the prevailing wage will put them in the poorhouse. Three of the leading industry groups representing below-market builders joined with nonprofit homeless providers Tuesday to warn that a bill in the City Council obligating them pay union rates would roughly double their labor costs—and have a "crippling" impact on new construction.

"We urge the City Council to delay the vote on this bill until it is amended such that it will achieve its goals without crippling housing production and preservation or hampering the efforts to provide shelter to homeless New Yorkers," according to a joint statement by the the Supportive Housing Network of New York, the Human Services Council of New York, Homeless Services United, the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, LiveOn NY and Enterprise Community Partners.

Developers have battled prevailing wage rules for construction workers for years, but have generally enjoyed an amicable relationship with the bill's main beneficiary 32BJ SEIU, which represents janitors and other building employees.

Large projects in areas of the city rezoned under the de Blasio administration already must pay union-level wages.

The statement on Tuesday marked a change not only in who the industry is feuding with, but also in tactics: the release sent to Crain's linked resistance to the prevailing wage with the longstanding difficulties homelessness service providers have in receiving reimbursements from the city, and with the low standard of living experienced by many workers in the senior and indigent care sector.

"While we agree that all workers should be paid a living wage, we want to point out that the (primarily female) staff that work in affordable/senior housing and shelters have government-funded salaries that are far below those of non-prevailing wage building service workers," the group said. "This bill would exacerbate an already gaping pay—and gender gap."