The GBCA collective bargaining agreements provide for the following with respect to the observance of Independence Day, July 4, 2009.
 
CARPENTERS, CEMENT MASONS, LABORERS & RODSETTERS – Not a paid holiday.  If worked, Double-Time.
 
OPERATING ENGINEERS – Paid Holiday.  A Holiday falling on Saturday shall be recognized as a paid holiday and celebrated on Friday.  Those on a weekly basis shall be paid for a holiday falling during the scheduled work week, provided such employees work the scheduled work day previous to the holiday and the scheduled work day following the holiday.  If worked, they are paid Double Time, which includes holiday pay.

Access New York City’s groundbreaking Project Labor Agreement here.

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On June 19th, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that several hundred unionized municipal workers crammed into LOVE Park this past thursday to warn Mayor Nutter that they are in no mood to give up anything in their contracts.

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According to the Philadelphia Inquirer in an article dated June 18th, Mayor Nutter planned to send legislation to City Council that would change the city pension plan for new workers.

The proposed plan would combine a traditional pension – at a lower benefit rate than current employees receive – with a 401(k) plan into which workers pay.

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The General Building Contractors Association (GBCA) announced that they have reached a tentative one-year settlement for Reinforced Ironworkers, Local #405 in Philadelphia.
 
The tentative one-year agreement offers an increase of $1.65 per hour effective July 1, 2009 that will be dedicated to the wages, pension and other benefit funds operated by the union.

As more information is confirmed it will be released. 

Unemployment in the construction sector climbed to 19.2% (not-seasonally adjusted) as an additional 59,000 construction workers lost their jobs in May according to new federal data.

Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) says that construction employment has declined by 990,000 jobs, or 14%, in the past year while overall nonfarm employment has declined by 4%. “Construction continues to bear a disproportionate share of the pain from the recession,” Simonson. “Simply put, the unemployment rate for construction in May was horrendous.”

Simonson said that the construction employment figures would likely have been worse if not for the stimulus. For example, Coos Bay, Oregon-based Laskey Clifton was able to put 24 employees on its payroll because of a stimulus-funded highway contract.

“The stimulus is doing its job putting men and women back to work,” said Simonson. “It is boosting opportunity and generating economic activity in an increasingly broad geographic area.”

Click Here to listen to the original conference call hosted by Ken Simonson.

On Monday, June 8, 2009  the GBCA Board of Directors ratified the agreements for the following trades:

 Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters
Laborers District Council
Cement Masons and Plasterers Union Local 592

These contracts will expire on April 30, 2010. For details, contact Wayne Gregory, GBCA Director of Labor Relations at (215) 568-7015. 

According to the New York Times, Gov. David A. Patterson and the state’s public employee unions announced an agreement on Friday that would reduce pension benefits for future public employees and save the state billions of dollars in an attempt to control ballooning costs for retirees.

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According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, New Jersey has reached an agreement with the Communication Workers of America  to take a wage freeze and 10 unpaid furlough days, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Thursday. The agreement averts the layoff of thousands of state workers in New Jersey, which faces a $4.4 billion budget shortfall in the current fiscal year.

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At the behest of owners and developers facing rapidly rising project costs, contractors and unions in New York City came together on a project labor agreement (PLA) that is expected to significantly increase productivity and reduce costs.

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