[billyhaze]

I live in Fall River, mass.. i want to move to florida for good, but i'm worried im not going to find a good place that i can afford and a job. Right now im a union lobar local 151 and i work constrution.. So right now my questiom is.. Were is the best place to live in florida for constrution union lobar jobs and good cheap house for rent?????

[kyle19125]

Florida is the worst place for construction jobs because we have so many who moved from all over the country to work here before the housing crash, and many are still here working wherever (and whenever) they can for sub-standard wages. Unless you have a specific trade (plumber, electrician, heating and cooling, etc) I would not recommend it. If you're looking for a warm weather state with jobs check out Louisiana. Because of the oil boom there's a lot of construction going on in places like Shreveport, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. The cost of living is also quite affordable.

[tonyff67]

I don't know that there are any private sector unions in Fl. fl is a right to work state. Gon't workers do have unions, such as police, fire, teachers. I work for city of Tampa and all their employees are unionized. Cities have maintenance divisions, with plumbers, electricians, you name it, so maybe something like that would work for you.

[StreetSmarts]

FL is actually, from what I have seen and heard, seen a major improvement in construction projects going on. Not like it was in the boom yrs of 04/05 obviously. We don't need that again.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I would not recommend it. If you're looking for a warm weather state with jobs check out Louisiana. Because of the oil boom there's a lot of construction going on in places like Shreveport, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. The cost of living is also quite affordable.

The cost of living has gone up quite a bit in the last few years, but I agree about the oil jobs, especially in the Southeastern part of the state.

Louisiana also has a state income tax.

[jghorton]

Florida is a great place for one who works in construction, particularly outdoors --- but, the very thing that attracts construction workers to Florida ... minimizes union involvement (at least in construction). Other than government jobs (state), I've not seen much union influence anywhere in Florida.

[sware2cod]

For residential and commercial building/construction - I don't think they are unionized at all. Or for road/bridge construction either.

As others said, government usually is unionized...but it's not mandatory that you join the union when in government jobs. The pay for local gov jobs is usually pretty low compared to the union jobs in northern states. Some local governments pay pretty low wages even compared to the private sector jobs in Florida.

FL is starting to go gangbusters again with building/construction. New homes are being built at decent pace and increasing.

[Not_liking_FL]

Good luck finding a union construction job in Florida. Not saying they don't exist, but I'm sure they're rare. Even if building is picking up I'd imagine there are a lot of skilled trades people that already live here who are trying to get back into construction since the recession. Your best bet would be to have a job in place before you move here, and that job will likely pay a lot less then what you're used to up north.

[HarryWho?]

You'll make less than half what you're making now and with less benefits. The cost of living is not commensurate with the wages.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

Good luck finding a union construction job in Florida. Not saying they don't exist, but I'm sure they're rare.

My uncle was in construction in the Orlando area in the 80's, he was in a union position at the time and they went on strike. Needless to say, he couldn't find another union job and ended up in the Carolina's..

That was 25 years ago.