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The flood of summer work that swamps many union halls in the Portland-metro area has been nothing more than a trickle this year as a stagnant commercial and industrial building market has left plumbers, pipe fitters, sheet metal workers and others idle.

Union leaders and contractors say the biggest reason for the slump in work is a scarcity of money to pay for projects.

Frank Wall, executive director for the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association, said one of its 200 members was ready to start work on five commercial projects until the dollars disappeared.

鈥淗e employed 100 plumbers, and has 20 now,鈥� Wall said.

The plight of unions drew national headlines in the spring as the United Auto Workers union reversed course and agreed to a number of concessions with automakers. Nobody is suggesting the situation in the Portland area is as bad, and union contracts remain intact.

鈥淲e did wage rollbacks in the 鈥�80s, but it didn鈥檛 get us any more work,鈥� said Len Phillips, business manager, financial secretary and treasurer for the Sheet Metal Workers Local 16.

But the sluggish market does mean more people in the trades are without work. Also, future contract negotiations could be altered and apprenticeship programs may suffer.

Wall said his association and United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290 in March agreed to a two-year contract that gave the union鈥檚 3,000-plus members a $1.60 hourly increase. But 20 cents of that went to health and welfare costs, and the remainder to shore up pensions, which have lost up to 28 percent of value from a year ago.

Phillips said there have been no adjustments to the sheet metal workers union鈥檚 contract, which expires in 2010 and covers 2,300 members. He said approximately 200 members are not working; that figure has doubled from six months ago.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48 has 4,000 members, 2,800 of whom are in the construction industry. Clif Davis, business manager and financial secretary for the local, said the construction segment of its membership has a 15-percent unemployment rate and many more people are working part-time. He expects to finish 2009 with the union鈥檚 members working 10 percent to 12 percent fewer hours than in 2008.

The lack of jobs is now trickling down to the apprenticeship programs. Graduation is being delayed as students struggle to book enough hours of work to meet requirements, and unions fight to find that balance point of accepting new students to replace retirees without creating a glut of idle apprentices.

Davis is countering the stagnant market by increasing marketing. The union has rented billboards, increased advertising, lobbied the Legislature and produced a video designed to reach contractors that emphasizes the professionalism of its workers. The hope is that builders will think of Local 48 when it comes time to hire.

But while Davis and other union representatives eagerly await an end to the current economic crunch, they don鈥檛 expect to see a quick recovery.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to remain at lower-than-normal levels,鈥� Davis said.