Business: THE SCANDAL OF BUILDING COSTS

ORGANIZED labor long ago acquired a stranglehold over the $85 billion construction industry. That power has not only led to an astronomic rise in building wages but has also enabled unions to load the nation's largest industry with archaic and inefficient methods of operation. As a result, construction costs are climbing so swiftly that they are complicating Washington's struggles to increase the supply of housing and restrain inflation. Last week George Romney, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, challenged construction-union leaders to adopt reforms. His candor was greeted with boos, jeers and catcalls....

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