An export on union construction trades in Wisconsin expects 2008 to be a good year, despite the downturn in the housing market.
John Topp with the Construction Labor Management Council of Southeast Wisconsin says the mortgage crisis and resulting housing downturn have hurt some building trades, in particular eletrical, plumbing and carpentry. "We've obviously, as a union construction industry, felt the hurt in that downturn as well as anybody," Topp notes. Other unions, particularly those involved in commercial and infrastructure work, have been relatively unaffected, and Topp believes the the building trades expect continued growth in 2008.