Collective bargaining negotiations settled from January through June 2018 resulted in an average first-year wage-and-benefits increase of 3.0 percent or $1.65, according to the Construction Labor Research Council’s (CLRC) latest – and redesigned – Settlements Report. While most first-year increases were in the 2.1-2.5 percent and 2.6-3.0 percent ranges, CLRC reported a “noticeable” percent of first-year increases of over 5 percent. For newly negotiated multi-year agreements, the average increase for both the second and the third year of the contract was 2.8 percent. The Insulators had the highest average first-year increase at 4 percent, while the Boilermakers had the lowest at 2.1 percent.
The redesigned report now has two sections. The first section provides an analysis of data from newly settled agreements as discussed above, while the second section also covers data from previously negotiated agreements that are currently in effect. When previously negotiated data are included, the average increase given in the first half of this year was 2.8 percent or $1.58. Based on trends, CLRC projects an increase of 3.0 percent or $1.88 by 2020.
Details are available in the full report, which is available to AGC members in the Labor & HR Topical Resources area of AGC’s website under the main category “Collective Bargaining” and subcategory “Collective Bargaining Agreement Data.” An updated report is expected in December or January.
AGC’s collective bargaining chapters are reminded to please send settlements information to CLRC at clrc@clrcconsulting.org promptly after completion of bargaining. Chapters and members are also reminded that CLRC is available to assist with custom projects, such as analyses of local market share, contract language costs, union vs. nonunion wage and benefits comparisons, and wage and benefits benchmarks, at a discount for AGC affiliation. For more information about these services, please call CLRC directly at (202) 347-8440.