Advancing Union-Backed Housing Models for AFT Public Sector Members

WHEREAS, AFT public sector members face a deepening housing affordability crisis, with rising home prices, rents and borrowing costs pushing homeownership beyond reach for many working families; and

WHEREAS, housing insecurity directly affects recruitment, retention and stability in public sector professions, and undermines the ability of workers to live in the communities they serve; and

WHEREAS, the federal tax code and housing finance system favor homeownership without providing meaningful or comparable support for renters, exacerbating inequality and wealth disparities among working people; and

WHEREAS, corporate investors increasingly purchase single-family homes and new developments at scale, driving up prices and reducing access for first-time homebuyers as part of a profit-driven corporate housing model; and

WHEREAS, New York–based building trades and utility unions have successfully utilized union-backed housing models, including labor-supported developments, project labor agreements tied to housing production, and union-affiliated financial institutions that provide favorable mortgage products to members; and

WHEREAS, these models demonstrate that unions can play a constructive role in expanding affordable housing supply while ensuring high-quality construction, stable jobs and access to homeownership for union members:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will recognize housing affordability and access to homeownership as a core labor, economic justice and workforce sustainability issue for public sector members; and 

RESOLVED, that the AFT will actively explore and promote union-backed housing strategies modeled after New York’s building trades and utility unions, including but not limited to:

• Housing set-asides for union members in publicly financed or labor-supported developments; 
• Partnerships with labor-friendly developers utilizing project labor agreements that include pathways to homeownership for union members; 
• Cooperative or union-sponsored housing developments designed specifically for public sector workers; 
• Collaboration with union-affiliated banks, credit unions or financial institutions to provide low-interest and interest-free mortgage products, down-payment assistance, or first-time homebuyer programs for AFT members; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will convene affiliates—particularly in New York and other states—along with building trades councils, utility unions, housing finance experts and public officials to identify best practices, legal frameworks, and funding mechanisms that can be adapted nationally; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will advocate for federal, state and local policies that discourage speculative corporate ownership of residential housing, expand affordable housing supply, and support labor-backed housing initiatives that prioritize working families over corporate profit; and 

RESOLVED, that the AFT will report back to its executive council and affiliates with concrete recommendations and potential pilot initiatives—including New York-based pilots—that advance housing stability and homeownership opportunities for AFT public sector members. 

Adopted July 19 2026