A joint effort by one of Boston’s biggest construction union and a pair of developers to sway the Boston mayoral race has netted its first two pledges: At-large City Councilor Michelle Wu and state Rep. Jon Santiago, both of whom are running for mayor this fall.

The Responsible Development Coalition is a combined effort of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, RISE Construction Management and investment manager Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. The group announced the kick-off of a pressure campaign Wednesday, aimed at encouraging well-paid labor on construction sites, more environmentally sustainable building techniques and affordable housing development.

“Responsible development means strengthening neighborhoods and striving to make housing more affordable,” Joe Byrne, coalition chair and executive secretary treasurer of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, said in a statement. “Responsible developers and contractors offer local people equal opportunity for good-paying union jobs that help provide those who live in our neighborhoods the wages needed to stay in them. Responsible development collaborates with neighborhoods and invests in improving and beautifying them.”

Polls put Wu and fellow At-Large City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George in the lead, with Acting Mayor Kim Janey close behind, but with a large chunk of the city’s electorate remaining undecided.

The six-way race for Boston’s top job has likewise splintered construction unions’ and developers’ political support, with major names in the city’s real estate world distributing their financial support widely among the candidates. Wu herself has raised hackles in some quarters by advocating for the Boston Planning & Development Agency to be split up into a separate, and much more active, planning agency and a development approvals management agency.

Byrne said the Responsible Development Coalition’s intent was to put housing and development issues front-and-center in the mayoral race.

The coalition is asking candidates to sign a pledge to support development that:

• Creates “good-paying jobs for local residents that pay a living wage and provides benefits like healthcare and a pension.”​
• Offers equal pay for equal work, no payroll tax fraud and “safe job sites”
• Increases the city’s supply of affordable and workforce housing.
• Promotes more environmentally sustainable building practices.
• Offers “high quality” apprenticeship programs for “underserved communities.”
• Is based on “robust community outreach efforts” to build support for proposals

“As responsible developers, we understand that the path to a more affordable and equitable Boston starts with us,” Jim Grossman, former Suffolk executive and co-founder of RISE Construction Management and developer RISE Together, said in a statement. “What does that mean? It means that we invest in neighborhood beautification efforts. We have wage equality, hire contractors that pay a living wage with good benefits and apprenticeship programs. We are collaborative with our neighborhood partners and provide career pathways for women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and transitioning veterans.”

Within hours of its kick-off event, the coalition tweeted that Wu was the first candidate to sign the pledge. The action came the same day she announced a housing policy platform that included spending at least $200 million of the $500 million Boston is receiving in federal aid on housing assistance, $10 million in city funding for rental subsidies and using the city’s bonding authority to fund affordable housing construction. Wu also called for citywide zoning and permitting reforms that would eliminate parking requirements and most review for fully-affordable housing projects and public housing and increase density near transit corridors.