We’re about to sign-off on a buildout for an additional floor they are leasing.
We received a quote through builders that use non-union labor and suspect the quote may be too high.
I'm looking for advice on the implications of using union vs non-union labor in SF.We have worked both union and non union, we are available to give you advice, as each project is different, the circumstances will change and the answer to your question will depend on your political astuteness in this city and how you will be able to navigate the process.
Always union labor projects cost more money than none union labor, if you have a certain union requirement to meet, you have to hire union labor contractor, if not, then negotiate with the none union shop. Get 3 estimates if you can then evaluate.
Really depends what and where you’re building. Most smaller private tenant improvements are using non-union labor.
Having worked both union and having my own shop now non-union. With union you are more likely to get the more experienced help percent to ratio but there is still a lot of good non-union hands out there too. I would put like this if you put 10 union craftsmen in a room and 10 non-union craftsmen in the same room and wanted the 10 best out of that 20 and price was not a factor you would on average probably get 3 non union hands and 7 union hands. I wouldn’t try to put those remaining ten in any order though. So yes some of it comes down to the price you want to pay or even more important if you trust the contractor your working with.