By Brooke Thomson
President & CEO

On October 7, I stood with Attorney General Andrea Campbell at a press conference to express the support of employers for the MBTA Communities Act and its importance to solving the commonwealth’s housing crisis.

The press conference took place as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held oral arguments on the state’s authority to enforce the law, which requires communities served by the MBTA’s subway and commuter rail system to rezone areas near public transit for more multifamily housing.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts is a community of 3,400 employers from every corner of the commonwealth and every segment of the Massachusetts economy. And almost every one of those employers has heard from a team member at one time or another: “I’d love to come to work here (or I’d love to stay here) but I can’t afford to raise my family here, so I’m leaving my job and moving to another state.”

The housing crisis has been a major challenge for employers, who report that the soaring cost of buying or renting a home in Massachusetts is driving some of our best and brightest employees to less expensive regions of the country. Addressing the affordability question turns out to be a critical variable as Massachusetts employers compete for talent in some of our fastest-growing industries.

The numbers tell the story. Massachusetts last month had the fourth highest median home price in the United States at $614,700, trailing only Hawaii, Washington DC and Washington state. That median price was 50 percent higher than the national average. Meanwhile, Boston ranks among the bottom 15 metro areas in the country in construction of new homes.

One business owner who responded to a recent AIM Business Confidence survey spoke for many employers when he wrote: “Finding qualified workers is challenging, more so when some of our existing employees tell us they can no longer afford to remain in Massachusetts.”

The MBTA Communities Act is a unique accomplishment of public policy because it addresses not one but two major challenges to the economic well-being of Massachusetts – housing and transportation. The law understands that there is a symbiotic relationship between the ability of people to find shelter, to get to work and home again, and the long-term economic prosperity of the commonwealth.

That’s why the law has united AIM, the statewide business association, with the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.  We are encouraged by the growing implementation of the MBTA Communities Act by dozens of municipalities throughout the region.

AIM joined with other business groups last month signing onto an amicus brief that asked the Supreme Judicial Court to consider numerous policy studies that document the impacts of unaffordable housing on workers and families in Massachusetts and their employers. These studies also explain why by-right multifamily dwellings situated near public transit locations are an integral tool that can be used to address Massachusetts’ housing crisis, a crisis that has and will damage the prosperity of our region.

At AIM we believe in the power of business to create a better tomorrow and a more prosperous and thriving Massachusetts for all. We believe that economic opportunity and prosperity are gifts from one generation to another, not a ladder to be pulled away from others as they climb into the boat.

AIM is proud to support efforts to accelerate the supply of housing and moderate the prices our employees must pay to live and work here in the commonwealth.