No Windfall : Amid Hurricanes’ Wreckage, Most Out-of-State Carpenters Find Yet More Unemployment Lines

David Bennett has emptied out his savings account and doesn’t know how much longer his unemployment benefits will last.

The 41-year-old carpenter from Long Beach, out of work for nine months, is so desperate to work that he decided to leave his two sons with his ex-wife if a job came up in Hawaii, where Hurricane Iniki created widespread destruction on the island of Kauai.

“It’s very tough to pull up roots and say goodby to your sons,” Bennett said. “You should be able to work in your general area for your whole life.”

Bennett is not the only unemployed construction worker to look for work in hurricane-ravaged areas--and he’s not the only one to come up empty.

Scores of construction workers from across the country have been calling unions in Hawaii and Florida, asking about work in an effort to escape the high unemployment that has dogged their industry since the start of the recession. Union officials cite unemployment rates of 35% to 50% as common.

Hawaii’s union officials, however, are turning workers away, and Florida officials are telling people to wait. While property damage from Hurricane Iniki and Hurricane Andrew is expected to run well into the billions, rebuilding in either state is not expected to start soon.

“We had about 75 messages on our answering machine already,” said Tom Fujikawa, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1186 in Honolulu. “Things must be very desperate throughout the country.”

Kauai residents are still waiting for some services to be restored, and many still haven’t even been able to call their families on other islands because of the limited availability of phones.

“Kauai is getting out of a state of shock,” said Walter Kupau, whose Hawaii Carpenters Union Local 745 is one of the largest in the local construction industry. “There’s nothing a contractor can do, there’s not a need for anyone from the mainland, and the work has been slow.”

The Hawaii Construction Industry Assn. had been expecting a 10% to 12% downturn for the coming year, mostly because of cutbacks in Japanese development money. In Southern California, however, construction workers have been scrambling for work for more than two years.

“Here, it’s a depression,” said Jesse Martinez of the Southern California Carpenters Union Local 309 in El Monte. “People are really hurting.”

Martinez said some of his members have been thinking of going to Florida to look for work, even though he told them that the wages are low and the state has a reputation as a non-union workplace.

Bennett, who has worked in construction since 1976, said the current local employment picture is “the worst I’ve ever seen.” Unemployment among carpenters in Southern California is running at about 35% to 40%, according to Steve McCarron, business representative for the Carpenters Union Local 1506.

Officials at the South Florida Carpenter’s District Council in Miami have been receiving 40 to 60 calls a day since Hurricane Andrew ravaged the area Aug. 24. Fifteen out-of-state carpenters have parked their campers in the union’s parking lot, waiting for post-hurricane rebuilding to begin, said Mack Blanton, the union’s business manager.

Blanton said times have been tough for South Florida construction workers as well, with unemployment among carpenters running at 50% to 60% for the last 18 months. But unlike Hawaii, Florida will probably need additional workers to rebuild, he said.

“We’re telling them to wait until the residential work starts,” he said. “Right now most of the work is in demolition.” Insurance checks have to arrive and materials need to be ordered before anyone can rebuild, and that may take weeks, he said.

Union officials in Hawaii said construction workers should not plan on coming to Hawaii any time soon. They have enough workers in their own ranks to fill jobs, they said, and getting to Kauai is also difficult now.

The only call for workers has come from Kauai Electric, which has asked for help in restoring the island’s power lines. Thirty-five people from Southern California Edison left for Hawaii on Thursday with more than 100 telephone poles, 27 trucks and other equipment to help restore power to Kauai.

Workers from other utilities are expected to join them soon.

Other than that, the hurricane will mostly be a boon for the local workers. “Obviously, it’s a shot in the arm,” said Jonathan Brown of the Hawaii Roofers Union. “You hate to make a living at the expense of someone else’s grief, but it will give a shot in the arm.”