Building a better house

Diana Sahagun

Monday, March 13, 2000 | 11:41 a.m.

Ill-trained workers are largely responsible for the high incidence of construction defects in the Las Vegas Valley, says a consultant who has formed a new group to promote a better trained building industry.

The consultant, John Wilson, has made several trips to Las Vegas from his home in Southern California over the past few weeks, rallying support for the new group -- Help Organize and Retrain Subcontractors' Employees, or HORSE.

The group is backed by building and construction unions in Las Vegas and Northern and Southern California, with the goal of increasing the number of trained workers in the residential construction market.

Wilson's consulting company, P P Industries, has been hired by the Nevada and California unions to talk to home builders about the benefits of union labor, particularly the training that unions require of their workers.

Neither local government nor the state Contractors Board keeps statistics on the percentage of union labor in the local home building industry, but Wilson and other union representatives said only 3 to 6 percent of the residential work force is composed of union labor.

Wilson, a former roofing subcontractor, has traveled to countless job sites here and throughout California. He points out that many workers hired for plumbing, electrical, roofing and other specialty jobs are not adequately trained in those areas. The result many times, Wilson said, is work that does not comply with the Uniform Building Code.

By pointing out construction defects at local housing tracts, Wilson ultimately hopes to persuade builders to sign an agreement that will require them to participate in the training and education of workers -- union or nonunion -- throughout the industry.

If builders sign the agreement, Wilson said, lawsuits filed over construction defects would significantly lessen.

But for now builders seem less than thrilled, and the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association says defensively that training policies are adequately in place.

Irene Porter, executive director of Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, said she has received HORSE materials but declined to speak specifically of the group.

"We believe workers should be trained, but that is up to the individual contractor or subcontractor to train their employees," she said. "It's not something we get into. We leave it up to our individual members."

Referring to an aspect of the HORSE agreement that would require general contractors to hire only those workers who have graduated from a state-approved training program, Porter said:

"All of us in our lives can benefit from more training, but it does not have to be through state-approved programs. All people should, throughout their lives, improve themselves with added training, but that can be provided in a number of ways: by companies, schools, etc. It doesn't necessarily mean a state-approved program is the only one that can train workers in any field."

Wilson said his group is simply asking builders to "rededicate themselves to quality."

"Most of the time, the homes don't have problems until 10 years down the road," Wilson said. "I could go out to any tract and show these homeowners some real blinding problems with their houses."

According to HORSE materials, builders could recover the cost of training by increasing the selling price of each home by 3.6 percent.

Philip Campbell, training coordinator for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 525, said his union supports HORSE.

"I think most of the problems people are having with housing comes from materials that aren't the best and a lack of training," Campbell said. "Most workers are given a task where they just know how to do one thing. When there becomes a problem, they can't remedy it. If these people would have the training, these problems would be solved."

Through the plumber/pipefitter program, local members go through 246 hours of classroom training and 7,500 hours of on-the-job training. There are five classes of 30 students each taking place over the course of a year.

While Porter said she has seen an increase in construction-defect lawsuits and complaints, she said it cannot be pinned solely on a lack of training by subcontractors.

"There are a multitude of things we're doing (to deal with the issue)," she said, including "working with builders and proposing changes in law."

Kirsten Cannon, public information specialist for the state Contractors Board, said individual contractors and subcontractors by state law must be licensed. In order to get a license, the contractor and subcontractor must have worked for four years with a licensed contractor.

In the building industry, a licensed contractor will hire licensed subcontractors, who then hire their own employees -- other workers who perform plumbing, roofing, etc.

According to Contractors Board rules, if the general contractor and main subcontractors are licensed by the board, the laborers do not have to be licensed. This means the training of many hands-on workers is up to the contractor.

Therein lies the problem, Wilson says.

"It's kind of like going to get your hair cut and only having the manager be licensed, not each hairdresser," he said.

Wilson, who was nonunion for years when he worked as a roofing subcontractor, said he has made no progress with local builders when he approaches them about HORSE. He says that although there is an emphasis on employing union workers, he said he's not picking sides.

"The truth is, it doesn't matter if you're union or nonunion. Our agreement says just have the builder require each trade contractor to have a training program in place," he said.

Wilson maintains that the push for unions is due to the fact that it is the only sector that requires and mandates an extensive training program, much like a college classroom setting.

Wilson said he quit the business in 1996 after 20 years as a roofing subcontractor. He said he grew frustrated with the lack of training on the part of subcontractors he needed to hire.

"I tried to make the changes from within the system, but the system is abusive to anybody who doesn't agree with it," he said. "They're like a zebra pack. The inner pack says who gets the safety of the inner circle.

"If you try to buck the system, they will try to destroy you. I decided to sell out of the business and try to make the changes from outside pressures.

"In Las Vegas, my position was to come to the builders and show them an approach where they can solve these problems," Wilson said. "Next to take it to trade contractors, and then notify the consumer of the realities."

Diana Sahagun is a reporter for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2320 or by e-mail at diana@lasvegassun.com.