Word: erlich
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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Commercial construction workers are in a bind. Before, if work dried up in Boston or Seattle, carpenters, electricians and plumbers would pack up and go to Las Vegas or Texas or Alaska. "Now there is no work anywhere," says Mark Erlich, whose New England Regional Council of Carpenters represents 22,000 union members in six states. "The largest problem is the continued lack of financing," says Jerry Rhoades, executive secretary treasurer of the Florida Carpenters Regional Council. "In the summer of 2009, there were 800 jobs on the books to build across the state. We do commercial, high-rise residential...
...bottom now." Across a membership of 26,000 in 42 locals in five states unemployment ranges from 21% to 35%. One bright spot: a few big public projects on the horizon, including a floating bridge that will connect Seattle to its suburbs. "It's a mess," says Erlich in New England. "The private sector is dead. We're at the point where we are considering investing money from our pension fund in construction projects. We either need another stimulus focused on job creation or the banks must be directed to lend...