YIMBYs Craft Labor Deal for SB 79
New Provisions Win Support from UNITE HERE; Building Trades Go Neutral
“Workers build California”
SACRAMENTO — Today, California YIMBY announced new amendments to SB 79 that extend common labor provisions to new homes that will be built under the law.
The bill, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener and co-sponsored by California YIMBY, now includes provisions that ensure new housing over 85 feet in height, or on land owned by transit authorities, is built by workers from participating construction unions.
“Our agreement with labor on SB 79 will yield more homes, better jobs, and quicker timelines,” said Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY. “We’re proud to stand with labor to make sure those workers are paid good wages and get good benefits. With these amendments, all SB 79 housing projects on transit agency land, and above 85 feet in height, require strong labor standards — the projects that need the most skilled crews—while keeping the rest of SB 79 free of new mandates.”
The amendments, which were negotiated by California YIMBY and representatives of the State Building and Construction Trades Union of California and representatives of UNITE HERE, ensure that all new housing projects over 85 feet built under SB 79 must use skilled and trained labor standards, unless a project does not receive at least 3 qualified bids (the labor standard established in SB 423, passed in 2023).
In addition, projects built on land owned by transit agencies will either use the SB 423 labor standards, or enter into a project-labor agreement.
Finally, the bill does not authorize construction of new hotels.
The amendments are expected to bring the Building Trades to a “neutral” position and UNITE HERE will come on as a bill supporter.
SB 79 will make it faster and easier to build multi-family housing near transit stops, like train and rapid bus lines, by making it legal for more homes to be built in these areas.
Under the bill’s provisions, the type of new homes that will be allowed is determined by the distance of the housing from a transit stop; the transit type and frequency; and the overall level of transit infrastructure in the region.