Another Union Takeover - This Time Buried In Housing Bills

You would have to dig into the fine print of legislation signed yesterday to see how non-union business owners and workers got screwed, again.

If A Tree Falls In The Forest And No One Hears It - Did It Make A Noise?

What we witnessed yesterday afternoon should alarm every Californian who values free enterprise and limited government. Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 130 and SB 131 on Monday, housing reform bills tied directly to the state budget in a maneuver that bypassed meaningful debate and public scrutiny. Media outlets around the state are heralding this as a triumph for housing reform, praising streamlined permits, CEQA exemptions, and such. Yet behind this carefully crafted narrative lies a troubling truth: these bills represent yet another extreme expansion of pro-union labor mandates But you would not know it because it is largely unreported by the media.

With a liberal in Governor Newsom who has made no secret of his progressive agenda and a legislature that has received millions in union campaign contributions, such government overreach was predictable. The public gets promises of housing relief while powerful union interests secure unprecedented control over California’s construction industry. It is time to examine what these politicians are delivering to their constituents.

Union Mandates: A Devastating Blow to Economic Freedom

AB 130 strikes at the heart of competitive free enterprise in California. The bill creates new CEQA exemptions for infill housing developments that meet local zoning and planning standards, but the devil lives in the details, which most media outlets ignore. Section 25 of the legislation exempts housing projects from environmental review while imposing minimum wage requirements and prevailing wage rates on developments that were never subject to these costly mandates—a costly mandate in a bill that purports to make it easier to build housing.

Most small-scale residential construction projects are not currently covered by prevailing wage requirements, making this a seismic shift in California’s construction landscape. For San Francisco projects exceeding 50 units, the legislation establishes labor standards that must be enforced by joint labor-management committees—entities dominated by union representation. Section 26 further rigs the system by manipulating prevailing wage calculations to exclude non-union data, guaranteeing that union-negotiated rates become the mandatory standard.

While SB 131’s CEQA exemptions appear less explicit in their union favoritism, they trigger prevailing wage laws that funnel construction work directly into union hands. This represents the government picking winners and losers in the marketplace, not genuine policy reform designed to benefit California families.

Forced Unionization: Economic Destruction Disguised as Progress

The requirement to use union labor at union-negotiated wages represents a fundamental assault on free market principles that built American prosperity. Employers lose their fundamental right to hire the most qualified workers at competitive wages, while individual workers face pressure to join unions whether they desire representation or not. This tramples both business freedom and personal liberty under the guise of housing reform.

These mandates create insurmountable barriers for small and medium-sized developers who cannot afford union-scale wages and benefits, reducing competition and increasing housing costs for working families.

With the governor and legislature receiving substantial campaign contributions from construction unions, this outcome was entirely predictable—another example of special interests advancing their agenda at the expense of ordinary citizens.

CEQA Exemptions: Good Policy Corrupted by Cronyism

CEQA reform has long been a priority for Republicans and business advocates, who recognize that excessive environmental regulations strangle economic growth and housing development. Streamlining environmental review for appropriate projects represents sound policy that could benefit California families struggling with housing costs.

However, Newsom and the Democrats in the legislature have weaponized this reform to serve their union allies. By tying CEQA exemptions exclusively to projects that accept union labor mandates, they have transformed a pro-business reform into a tool for government favoritism. Only developments that surrender to these costly labor requirements receive regulatory relief, while projects seeking to operate competitively face the full burden of environmental bureaucracy.

This represents the worst kind of crony capitalism—government using its regulatory power to favor politically connected interests over fair competition. Rather than consistently applying CEQA reform across all qualifying projects, Sacramento politicians use regulatory relief as a carrot to force compliance with their union agenda.

I note that some Republicans voted for this, and I wonder if they slept soundly last night, knowing they used the coercive power of government this way.

A Call to Reject Cronyism and Restore Fairness

Working families across California deserve better than this corrupt bargain between politicians and union bosses. We must demand that environmental reforms apply equally to all qualifying housing projects, not just those willing to surrender to union control. Californians have the right to choose their employment arrangements without government coercion. However, understanding that government intervention is often the problem would require unrealistic self-reflection from legislators elected with labor money.