Scott Littlehale
@slittlehale.bsky.social
Build Housing, Protect All Workers, Organize.
California construction labor union research analyst and campaigner since 2003. Research finds that union membership, collective bargaining, and quality jobs are good for people and society, actually.
California construction labor union research analyst and campaigner since 2003. Research finds that union membership, collective bargaining, and quality jobs are good for people and society, actually.
Happy to walk folks through this detailed table breaking down construction expenses.
CW is short for construction workers employed within the specified industry.
Value Added excludes intermediate inputs (eg materials, rented equipment, outsourced services). VA includes Gross Operating Surplus.
CW is short for construction workers employed within the specified industry.
Value Added excludes intermediate inputs (eg materials, rented equipment, outsourced services). VA includes Gross Operating Surplus.
November 23, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Happy to walk folks through this detailed table breaking down construction expenses.
CW is short for construction workers employed within the specified industry.
Value Added excludes intermediate inputs (eg materials, rented equipment, outsourced services). VA includes Gross Operating Surplus.
CW is short for construction workers employed within the specified industry.
Value Added excludes intermediate inputs (eg materials, rented equipment, outsourced services). VA includes Gross Operating Surplus.
Value Added excludes material and services inputs as well as work that is subcontracted out.
What is left?
Labor Compensation (including white collar comp), taxes/transfers, and "Gross Operating Surplus," which is a crude measure of gross operating income.
What is left?
Labor Compensation (including white collar comp), taxes/transfers, and "Gross Operating Surplus," which is a crude measure of gross operating income.
November 23, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Value Added excludes material and services inputs as well as work that is subcontracted out.
What is left?
Labor Compensation (including white collar comp), taxes/transfers, and "Gross Operating Surplus," which is a crude measure of gross operating income.
What is left?
Labor Compensation (including white collar comp), taxes/transfers, and "Gross Operating Surplus," which is a crude measure of gross operating income.
Since Ezra Klein put housing costs back on the NYT opinion page, here’s some gold standard Economic Census data on construction that shows that construction trades worker compensation is anything but the leading cost-driver.
November 23, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Since Ezra Klein put housing costs back on the NYT opinion page, here’s some gold standard Economic Census data on construction that shows that construction trades worker compensation is anything but the leading cost-driver.
I look at this table of @ppicnotes.bsky.social polling results and think it'd be helpful to do more to break down California respondents' with household incomes north of $100k.
About half of any household that includes more than one earner make at least $100k, according to Census estimates.
About half of any household that includes more than one earner make at least $100k, according to Census estimates.
November 20, 2025 at 5:33 PM
I look at this table of @ppicnotes.bsky.social polling results and think it'd be helpful to do more to break down California respondents' with household incomes north of $100k.
About half of any household that includes more than one earner make at least $100k, according to Census estimates.
About half of any household that includes more than one earner make at least $100k, according to Census estimates.
this is a pretty good product that will open MS Office files
www.libreoffice.org
www.libreoffice.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:35 AM
this is a pretty good product that will open MS Office files
www.libreoffice.org
www.libreoffice.org
November 19, 2025 at 7:11 PM
yep. you're intuition appears to be correct
November 17, 2025 at 6:28 AM
yep. you're intuition appears to be correct
what leaves me puzzled and disappointed about @the-independent.com article and its eye-catching headline & lede is that the reporter cited the BLS data regarding job opening projections for auto mechanics but didn't use the pay info from the very same source in the story.
www.bls.gov/ooh/installa...
www.bls.gov/ooh/installa...
November 17, 2025 at 6:11 AM
what leaves me puzzled and disappointed about @the-independent.com article and its eye-catching headline & lede is that the reporter cited the BLS data regarding job opening projections for auto mechanics but didn't use the pay info from the very same source in the story.
www.bls.gov/ooh/installa...
www.bls.gov/ooh/installa...
here's one more data point...
with a range of $18/hr - $50/hr in Alameda County, one of the highest cost of living counties in the nation, this is a far cry from the $120k job opportunity claimed by a Ford's CEO, who made $24.9M in total comp in 2024.
with a range of $18/hr - $50/hr in Alameda County, one of the highest cost of living counties in the nation, this is a far cry from the $120k job opportunity claimed by a Ford's CEO, who made $24.9M in total comp in 2024.
November 17, 2025 at 5:42 AM
here's one more data point...
with a range of $18/hr - $50/hr in Alameda County, one of the highest cost of living counties in the nation, this is a far cry from the $120k job opportunity claimed by a Ford's CEO, who made $24.9M in total comp in 2024.
with a range of $18/hr - $50/hr in Alameda County, one of the highest cost of living counties in the nation, this is a far cry from the $120k job opportunity claimed by a Ford's CEO, who made $24.9M in total comp in 2024.
This post (along with articles credulously repeating the claim) is pushing a line of disinformation (or the FORD CEO is badly misinformed about Ford service techs' actual pay)
h/t @lorak.bsky.social for the o.p. and the BLS graphic summary of the distribution of pay for US auto service techs.
h/t @lorak.bsky.social for the o.p. and the BLS graphic summary of the distribution of pay for US auto service techs.
November 17, 2025 at 5:29 AM
This post (along with articles credulously repeating the claim) is pushing a line of disinformation (or the FORD CEO is badly misinformed about Ford service techs' actual pay)
h/t @lorak.bsky.social for the o.p. and the BLS graphic summary of the distribution of pay for US auto service techs.
h/t @lorak.bsky.social for the o.p. and the BLS graphic summary of the distribution of pay for US auto service techs.
fair. I went back over to the other site and found this reply to a post about the claim that Ford has 6,000 empty service bays
November 17, 2025 at 5:03 AM
fair. I went back over to the other site and found this reply to a post about the claim that Ford has 6,000 empty service bays
here is Ford's CEO pay ratio disclosure from the 2025 DEF-14A.
Median employee is a U.S. full-time salaried worker who in 2023 made $76k in taxable current pay.
Hard to believe an hourly mechanic starting out is going to top that!
Median employee is a U.S. full-time salaried worker who in 2023 made $76k in taxable current pay.
Hard to believe an hourly mechanic starting out is going to top that!
November 17, 2025 at 4:51 AM
here is Ford's CEO pay ratio disclosure from the 2025 DEF-14A.
Median employee is a U.S. full-time salaried worker who in 2023 made $76k in taxable current pay.
Hard to believe an hourly mechanic starting out is going to top that!
Median employee is a U.S. full-time salaried worker who in 2023 made $76k in taxable current pay.
Hard to believe an hourly mechanic starting out is going to top that!
Here are auto mfg industry avg wages by selected occs, estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2023 (5-year sample). data.census.gov/app/mdat/ACS...
November 17, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Here are auto mfg industry avg wages by selected occs, estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2023 (5-year sample). data.census.gov/app/mdat/ACS...
based on my experience seeing claims of shortages of workers willing to take ostensibly higher-than-average pay construction jobs (when most residential construction jobs pay lower than avg), I'd be inclined to try to verify that $120k claim, taking layoffs into account
November 17, 2025 at 2:33 AM
based on my experience seeing claims of shortages of workers willing to take ostensibly higher-than-average pay construction jobs (when most residential construction jobs pay lower than avg), I'd be inclined to try to verify that $120k claim, taking layoffs into account
I’m not a good (phone) photographer, so it’s not easy to see it, but there’s an owl atop that old cell tower structure in the foreground, and it’s hooting away
November 15, 2025 at 3:45 AM
I’m not a good (phone) photographer, so it’s not easy to see it, but there’s an owl atop that old cell tower structure in the foreground, and it’s hooting away
Post a bird to support @sbworkersunited.org and warn your followers not to buy Starbucks for the duration of the strike 🪶
November 14, 2025 at 5:37 AM
Post a bird to support @sbworkersunited.org and warn your followers not to buy Starbucks for the duration of the strike 🪶
Did Grok admit that "fair and balanced" replies to prompts that are intended to keep users engaged (both sides-ism!) are a disservice to inquiry into "truth"??!!
I report, you decide!
I report, you decide!
November 12, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Did Grok admit that "fair and balanced" replies to prompts that are intended to keep users engaged (both sides-ism!) are a disservice to inquiry into "truth"??!!
I report, you decide!
I report, you decide!
Grok copped to replying to Krassenstein with a bullshit 45%(55%) likelihood estimate that Biden (Trump) "legitimately" won in 2020. When I pressed, recalling very different responses to my own queries, Grok revised the likelihood that Biden "really" won to 99%.
People-pleasers are bad referees.
People-pleasers are bad referees.
November 12, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Grok copped to replying to Krassenstein with a bullshit 45%(55%) likelihood estimate that Biden (Trump) "legitimately" won in 2020. When I pressed, recalling very different responses to my own queries, Grok revised the likelihood that Biden "really" won to 99%.
People-pleasers are bad referees.
People-pleasers are bad referees.
OK, Grok copped to giving a bullshit response of a 45%(55%) likelihood that Biden (Trump) "legitimately" won in a colloquy with Krassenstein. When I pressed, recalling very different responses to my own queries, Grok replied and revised the likelihood that Biden "really" won to 99%.
November 12, 2025 at 7:49 AM
OK, Grok copped to giving a bullshit response of a 45%(55%) likelihood that Biden (Trump) "legitimately" won in a colloquy with Krassenstein. When I pressed, recalling very different responses to my own queries, Grok replied and revised the likelihood that Biden "really" won to 99%.
@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social I tried a few different ways to ask Grok and couldn't replicate the screenshot replies. It hypothesized that people are generating images intended to impersonate a Grok reply.
Note: this is the 2nd time ever I've queried grok, and I've avoided X for 18+ months.
Note: this is the 2nd time ever I've queried grok, and I've avoided X for 18+ months.
November 12, 2025 at 6:40 AM
@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social I tried a few different ways to ask Grok and couldn't replicate the screenshot replies. It hypothesized that people are generating images intended to impersonate a Grok reply.
Note: this is the 2nd time ever I've queried grok, and I've avoided X for 18+ months.
Note: this is the 2nd time ever I've queried grok, and I've avoided X for 18+ months.
Meanwhile up in the foggy East Bay hills, the cow sentry is on duty
November 12, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Meanwhile up in the foggy East Bay hills, the cow sentry is on duty
The Narrative persists that "labor shortages" in the construction sector are extraordinary. @upjohninstitute.bsky.social's comparison of "Labor Leverage Ratios" (Quits:Layoffs) that construction employees have LESS leverage vis-a-vis their employers relative to the all-industry avg.
November 11, 2025 at 5:15 PM
The Narrative persists that "labor shortages" in the construction sector are extraordinary. @upjohninstitute.bsky.social's comparison of "Labor Leverage Ratios" (Quits:Layoffs) that construction employees have LESS leverage vis-a-vis their employers relative to the all-industry avg.
un-inhanced cell phone shot
November 10, 2025 at 1:32 AM
un-inhanced cell phone shot