Minority union members still struggle to work

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20080213_Minority_union_members_still_struggle_to_work.html

By Jane M. Von Bergen

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Robert Sturgis, 53, an African American carpenter with 30 years' experience under his tool belt, wanted the kind of pay and benefits that can come with being in a union.

So, at a time when the building trades are trying to increase their minority participation, Sturgis, of Clementon, N.J., called the carpenters' union to help organize the five workers in his group - all of them African American.

The upshot?

Two of the three carpenters who voted in favor of the union were laid off this year by their employer, Westrum Development Co., of Fort Washington.

Although the Dec. 14 election, supervised by the National Labor Relations Board, was secret, the group was small enough that everyone had a pretty good idea of how the votes went - three in favor, one opposed, one contested by the company.

Westrum, whose city projects include Hilltop at Falls Ridge in East Falls, Brewerytown Square, and the Villas at Packer Park, says the layoffs were driven by economic forces that have pummeled the home-building industry.

"It's a genuine crisis in the whole industry," said spokesman Kevin Feeley. Westrum had 300 housing starts in 2006, 160 last year and "we're still at zero this year."

FULL story at link.