This is the first in a series of articles showing the impact of the nation's job crisis on the people of the North Country.
Tomorrow: One of the hundreds who will lose jobs at Pfizer copes with new reality.
PLATTSBURGH — For the past 25 years, Elijah Tomkiewicz has toiled as a carpenter.
For the most part, work has been steady, and Tomkiewicz has enjoyed a comfortable profession.
But the past two years, with the economy struggling, have been more dry than lucrative.
"I've been basically sitting around twiddling my thumbs," Tomkiewicz cracked. "I'd rather be working."
A member of the Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters, Tomkiewicz said union carpenters like himself have been hurt by the slowdown.
"Not everybody is a craftsman, but everybody and their brother has a hammer and are willing to do jobs for less, and people are hiring them," Tomkiewicz said.
"It's harder for us (union carpenters) to get jobs."
While union carpenters work for about $23 per hour, non-union workers will take jobs for as low as $8 per hour.
A divorced father of two teenage children, Tomkiewicz, 42, has been collecting unemployment in recent months to make ends meet.
"It's nice because when I am working I make good money, so I get the full amount of unemployment. It sucks for people who make minimum wage who have to get unemployment."
Tomkiewicz spends a lot of his down time with his hobby of making jewelry or sitting in local coffee shops, chatting with people.
"I'm not eating macaroni and cheese all the time, but I definitely eat better when I am working," he said.
Although his children wish their father were bringing in a steady paycheck, they understand the situation.
"They actually kind of like it (when he's not working) because I have more time for them," Tomkiewicz said.
"When I do get jobs, a lot of times you have to travel one or two hours away, so it takes up a lot of time.
"I love what I do, but the travel can be hard."
Tomkiewicz is hopeful that the economy will make a comeback, which will lead to work.
"When (President Barack) Obama got in there, it seemed like it was going to change, but that hasn't really happened yet. Hopefully, it will change soon."
Tomkiewicz hopes the spring and summer seasons will be good for construction.
"There is work around here, but a lot of it is at schools, and you can't work while the kids are in session, so you have to wait until summer.
"But you take what you can get. That is the nature of the beast."
E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
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