The Mysterious Construction Labor Shortage, with a Developer and a Union Rep

Matt and Liam delve into one aspect of California's housing crisis that doesn't receive much attention: the shortage of construction labor to build the houses the state so desperately needs. An avocado of the fortnight (2:15) first takes us to Orange County, where the question of where to shelter the region's growing homeless population has provoked some interesting reactions from local political leaders. Then a discussion of why the construction labor shortage hasn't received a ton of attention (7:00), some of the reasons for the shortage they've heard (12:00), and the politics of prevailing wage (14:00). Then an interview with Sacramento-area homebuilder Rachel Bardis on how she sees the labor shortage impacts the work she does (23:00), followed by an interview with Alex Lantsberg, an analyst for the San Francisco electricians' union (41:30).

Note: We know we say Alex is our first guess on the podcast, but it's Rachel.

Here are links to a couple articles we reference
On the power of the state construction workers' union and prevailing wage: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-construction-workers-housing-20170512-htmlstory.html
On the changing demographics of the construction industry in Los Angeles: http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-construction-trump/