Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations completed during 2018 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and fringe benefits of $1.70 per hour or 3.0 percent, according to the annual year-end Settlements Report issued by the AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC). This reflects a continuing slow but steady upward trend since 2011, when the average was only $0.73 or 1.7 percent. Still, CLRC notes, the 2018 average remained below increases negotiated during the 2006–2008 timeframe, which were over 4.0 percent per year. For multi-year agreements negotiated in 2018, the average second-year increase was $1.68 or 2.8 percent, and the average third-year increase was $1.65 or 2.7 percent.
The Northwest Region (AK, ID, OR, and WA), with an average of 4.6 percent, reported the largest average first-year percent increase in 2018 by a significant margin – double that of the region with the lowest percent increase, which was the Mountain Northern Plains Region (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY). By an even greater margin, the craft with the highest average first-year percent increase was the Insulators at 4.7 percent as compared to the craft with the lowest percent increase, which was the Teamsters at 1.9 percent. CLRC reports that the Insulator rate was influenced by the high settlements in the Northwest.
The full report is available in AGC’s online Labor & HR Topical Resources library under the main category “Collective Bargaining” and subcategory “Collective Bargaining Agreements Data.” You must be logged in as an AGC member for full access. The posted version of the report includes a detailed addendum available only to AGC and other CLRC supporters. It also contains information about the consulting and custom research services that CLRC offers to AGC chapters, members, and others. Collective bargaining chapters are reminded to please send new contract data directly to CLRC promptly upon settlement of collective bargaining negotiations.
For more information, contact Denise Gold, Associate General Counsel, at goldd@agc.org or (703) 837-5326.