A Solid Footing

Builders also should offer training to bridge the language gap, one of the biggest obstacles facing a crew of English- and Spanish-speaking workers. “We try to solve the communication problem, so we offer in-house Spanish classes for English speakers,” Allen explains. “It has been popular, so we now have a program for Spanish-speaking workers, too.”

“Learning English as a second language helped me,” Amaya believes. “Communication is the key. Everything goes along with it, and if the person understands, it helps. I have gotten workers to attend [English-as-second-language classes], and they like it so much they want to take more.”

Builders also have come up with innovative ways to build homes with a Spanish-speaking labor force that still knows very little, if any, English. “We go to the extent of hiring superintendents who speak Spanish,” says Charles Elliott, with Dewey Commercial in Wayne, Pa. “We build more mock-ups to better illustrate what we want built, try to use fewer skilled-labor–requiring products, and require an English-speaking foreman on their crews to deal with these issues.” Other builders are giving their workers more detailed drawings and fewer written notes.

Manufacturers are doing their part as well by developing tools and resources to accommodate the Hispanics in construction. Earlier this year, Charlotte, N.C.–based National Gypsum launched a Spanish-language version of its Web site so that Hispanic construction professionals will be able to locate and read information about the company's products and resources.

More recently, Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corp. created an integrated marketing program designed to address the needs of the nation's 2.5 million Spanish-speaking construction professionals. The program pulls together a variety of communication and media elements, including a new dedicated Web site, a toll-free technical assistance line, and materials that provide information in Spanish about Georgia-Pacific products and resources.

While all of these recommendations help, builders must still face the new realities of the industry: You can't use only unskilled labor and expect to build quality houses. You can't hire workers with no training and then turn a blind eye in the event of a jobsite accident or fatality. Unfortunately, the Colorado purchasing manager asserts, the industry has not shown that it has an interest in policing itself. “From a political standpoint, I'm all about less government control. However, what I'm seeing in this matter is that it may be necessary for government to look at policies to penalize the industry for hiring illegal immigrants.”

Mass deportation is also unlikely to benefit anyone, since immigrants play a vital role in the home construction industry. “If you eliminate Hispanic workers in the construction industry, you will destroy the U.S. economy in 30 days,” Guarini argues. “Not only will residential construction be damaged, but ancillary economies will be hurt as well, such as the appliance industry, carpet industry, moving industry, etc.” According to one respondent in our survey, union-built houses would cost up to 20 percent more, and entry-level housing could all but disappear.

“My message to our trades is to incorporate process improvement into their culture—and training programs for their labor force,” the Colorado purchasing manager says. “We have awarded trade contracts that were not the lowest bid, but were the highest quality; and conversely, we will discontinue doing business with a trade partner if we have exhausted our efforts to make improvements but the quality does not improve.”

As Gonzalez puts it, training is the best way to go. “If [immigrant workers] get the proper training and a [legal] opportunity to work, it will be good for everybody,” he says. “Everyone benefits: [The workers] will pay their taxes, and builders will get good workers.”

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