A SPECIAL REPORT: LAYOFFS

BUILDING SLUMP: The construction business is so stalled that the local Building and Construction Trades Council--the umbrella group for 33 unions and 33,000 members--is merging with the much larger building trades council in L.A. . . . With too many office buildings and too few buyers for new homes, about 5,000 building trades jobs were lost last year. . . . The upside: “When things get better,” says Mike Potts, of the local council, “we’ll wind up with a much more powerful organization.”