Construction workers may skip Hawai'i

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

A sudden demand for construction workers to rebuild more than 3,600 Southern California homes destroyed by recent wildfires will slow efforts in Hawai'i to fill thousands of trade positions for an upcoming boom in military housing construction on O'ahu.

The massive rebuilding project in Southern California after the recent wildfires is likely to lure construction workers needed in Hawai'i. The addition of $2.2 billion in military construction will increase jobs here by 30,000 to 40,000. Associated Press

But many of the construction workers who might have come to Hawai'i for jobs are certain to head instead to Southern California for a massive rebuilding project that is expected to last for years, said Karen Nakamura, CEO of the Building Industry Association — Hawai'i.

"Now that the fires have caused a tremendous need for rebuilding of homes, it's going to have a definite impact on the workers that are going to be available to Hawai'i and our workforce," Nakamura said. "It's so much more convenient for labor to drive into California than to actually relocate to Hawai'i. And with the cost of living in California compared to the cost of living in Hawai'i, it's definitely going to have an effect."

Contractors and workers in Southern California construction trade unions were busy even before the wildfires that killed 24 people. While many workers are expected to pour in from other states for the rebuilding, the number is expected to be far too small to handle the thousands of new customers.

"It's going to be tough," said bulldozer driver Jim Birdsell. "There's only so much of us to go around."

The big builders plan to take part in some of the larger-scale reconstruction. But they're ill-suited to help the homeowners who lived in the countryside in scattered ranch-style homes or mountain cabins.

"If all the folks who lost their home decided to rebuild their home on their lot, that is going to take a lot longer than 12 to 18 months, because the production builders like myself are not going to be involved in that process," said Steve Doyle, president of San Diego-based Brookfield Homes.

Hawai'i's estimated 25,000 to 35,000 existing construction jobs are expected to jump to 65,000 with the O'ahu military housing projects, which are scheduled to begin next year, Harbin said.

Many of the jobs will have to be filled by people from the Mainland despite the efforts of the various trade unions, government officials and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Building Industry Association to train local construction crews in a hurry, Nakamura said.

"Some of the unions are saying, 'We don't have enough people on the bench to fill the positions, so we're going to do a national call to fill all of the positions,' " Nakamura said. "After all of the workers are sucked up from Hawai'i ... the rest are going to have to come from somewhere else."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.