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My husband and I are thinking of relocating to NC from NY. He is currently in the Carpenters Union in NYC, can you transfer to NC? Are there union construction jobs? Is there a waiting list? i know the union is in Lexington but we don't want to live there. We want to live in the triangle. How far is the commute?
We have a 3yr old and want good schools and we can spend $250+ on a house.
Thanks
People still want to leave New York in droves and that seems fueled by the high cost of living there; ironically that high cost is derived from the salaries that Union and government workers earn. North Carolina seems like a relative bargain by comparison because many people see what houses cost down here, but they forget the logical reality that their pay may go down by a greater percentage should they relocate. Simply stated, it’s possible that some people might move to Raleigh looking to improve their plight only to end up worse off.
As others have mentioned, Unions aren’t very popular here in North Carolina. In fact, many of my co-workers have a sincere disdain for them and would like to see them abolished completely. It’s hard to argue when you see that nearly every institution which employs a Union workforce (i.e. automotive industry) is in financial peril.
The recipe for success here in Wake County is education but that should come as little surprise given that most economists feel that continuing education is the key to working the United States out of its most pressing underlying problem today- wealth disparity.
People still want to leave New York in droves and that seems fueled by the high cost of living there; ironically that high cost is derived from the salaries that Union and government workers earn. North Carolina seems like a relative bargain by comparison because many people see what houses cost down here, but they forget the logical reality that their pay may go down by a greater percentage should they relocate. Simply stated, it’s possible that some people might move to Raleigh looking to improve their plight only to end up worse off.
As others have mentioned, Unions aren’t very popular here in North Carolina. In fact, many of my co-workers have a sincere disdain for them and would like to see them abolished completely. It’s hard to argue when you see that nearly every institution which employs a Union workforce (i.e. automotive industry) is in financial peril.
The recipe for success here in Wake County is education but that should come as little surprise given that most economists feel that continuing education is the key to working the United States out of its most pressing underlying problem today- wealth disparity.
First, the criticism of quality of craftsmanship in this area is somewhat offensive. True, there are poorly built homes, here as well as other areas of the country, but there are also, very well built and highly detailed homes. It all depends who you hire and what you are willing to spend. On the subject of spending and union vs. non-union. Nearly 50% of the cost of a home is in labor, and labor at it's current non-union rate, adds much overhead to the typical company; profit margins are much lower than some would expect. Paying union wages and adding union mandated benefits, would add at least a third to the cost of a typical house. Union labor would increase the cost of housing and correspondingly the cost of living, removing the very appeal that draws some to relocate to this area. To answer the primary question, construction in the triangle area is as depressed as it has been since the recession of the 80's and may in fact be worse. Most companies have several employees already on temporary layoff, myself included and my employer deciding to retire in the near future due to the current conditions. I BTW have a contractors license, 20 years of experience, am considered a true craftsman by our clients, and am skilled in project management as well as carpentry. Also many contractors are reorganizing their companies to hire subcontractors only for all aspects of the building process, including carpentry, with at most a project manager on staff. This will certainly affect the quality of carpentry in the future, as subcontractors will be forced to hire as cheaply as possible, and there is plenty of cheap immigrant labor in this area, removing the craftsmen from the equation entirely. So, for my two cents; Great place to live, good quality of life at a reasonable cost, but if you expect to find employment as a carpenter, you had better be prepared to work on a subcontract basis, with the expectation that you will have to hire employees who will work for little compensation. Sacredgrooves and Grizzmeister seem to have a good understanding of our market.
In South Carolina, only 2.1 percent of all employed people are members of a union, and only 2.9 percent of all workers are represented by a union. In North Carolina, those proportions are 3 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, making us the second least-unionized state in the country
Carpenters doing residential construction are largely Hispanic and non-union.
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