Press Release: Labor Unions Back New Affordable Housing Initiative
Freeport, Maine—Labor union officials throughout Maine have today welcomed the creation of a new organization focused on affordable housing and homelessness. The New England Labor Housing Initiative seeks to work with the labor movement in the region to address the housing and homelessness crises. The Initiative is led by Dr. Jason Moyer-Lee, a former Director of Labor Standards at the Maine Department of Labor and a long-time labor activist.
“The New England Labor Housing Initiative is arriving at the right place at the right time,” said Cynthia Phinney, President of the Maine AFL-CIO. “New England’s housing crisis is severe and labor unions must be part of the solution. We look forward to working with the Initiative to find pro-worker solutions to the crisis.”
Officials from a number of other labor organizations have also declared support, including from the Maine Labor Climate Council, the Western Maine Labor Council, the Central Maine Labor Council, the Building Trades, the Southern Maine Labor Council, MSEA-SEIU, the Ironworkers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the Carpenters’ union. Meanwhile, Matt Schlobohm, Executive Director of the Maine AFL-CIO and Jason Shedlock, President of the Maine State Building & Construction Trades Council, serve on the Initiative’s Advisory Board. The Initiative has attracted further support from various current and former government officials, including former Maine Senate President Tory Jackson, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and former Acting US Secretary of Labor Seth Harris.
The Initiative comes at a time when, according to a state government report, “households now need to make over $100,000 annually to afford the median home price[.] As a result, buying a home in Maine now is not affordable for the majority of Mainers.” This report further says the state needs between 76,400 and 84,300 homes by 2030 in order to accommodate demand. Meanwhile, according to the annual “Point in Time Count” from January 2024, 2,695 people were experiencing homelessness in Maine. This is more than double the numbers from every year between 2015 and 2021.
“Labor unions provide the best representation working people can get,” said Dr. Jason Moyer-Lee, the Initiative’s Director. “If the unions can play a more muscular role in solving the housing and homelessness catastrophes, everyone will benefit. I look forward to working with them to do just that.”
The New England Labor Housing Initiative has already started developing work programs. It is working with unions and homeless shelters to develop training programs to offer people experiencing homelessness a path to middle class union construction jobs. It will be working with labor unions to develop policy proposals, is highlighting what the labor movement is already doing around the country to address housing issues, and is working with national labor organizations to pressure public sector pension funds to invest more in affordable housing.
The New England Labor Housing Initiative will be partnering with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Labor Center for some of its work, and Dr. Moyer-Lee has been appointed a Labor Housing Fellow at the Labor Center as part of this arrangement.
“This initiative addresses some of the most pressing issues of today— labor and housing,” said Dr. Jasmine Kerrissey, Director of the Labor Center and Chair of the New England Labor Housing Initiative’s Advisory Board. “The Labor Center at UMass, Amherst is thrilled to partner with The New England Labor Housing Initiative.”
For further information:
Email: jason@laborhousing.org
Website: https://www.newenglandlaborhousinginitiative.org
X: @NE_laborhousing
BlueSky: @laborhousing.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laborhousing/
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