The General Building Contractors Association (GBCA) and area building trades have started the process of labor negotiations. On behalf of its members, the GBCA will negotiate with the Carpenters, Cement Masons, Laborers, Drywall Finishers and Rodstetters.

The Carpenter, Cement Mason, Laborer, and Drywall Finishers agreements expire April 30, 2009. The Rodsetter agreement expires June 30, 2009. Other trades with agreements expiring this year are: Boilermakers, Bricklayers, Painters, Paperhangers & Wallcoverers, Plumbers, Riggers, Roofers, Steamfitters and Masons.

The GBCA Carpenter negotiation team met on March 10, 2009 with the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters. The result of the meeting was positive. Additional meetings will follow.

The teams are negotiating in a marketplace deeply affected by the current global economic crisis. Regional unemployment in construction continues to rise and several construction projects have been cancelled or postponed. Nationally, construction employment sank by 104,000 jobs in February and by 826,000 over 12 months. That is one-fifth of the economy-wide loss over the year, despite the industry accounting for only one out of 20 employees. In addition, employment in architectural and engineering services, a harbinger of demand for future construction, slumped 16,000 in February and 56,300 over 12 months.

LABOR LINK
LaborLink is a website published by the GBCA to be used a resource to access continuous updates on the status of labor negotiations both here and across the country. In addition to regional negotiation updates, the site is populated with information from around the country regarding building trades negotiations in other areas including: California, Chicago, Boston, Connecticut, St. Louis and Michigan.

GBCA
GBCA is the Philadelphia Builders’ Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The Association’s membership of general contractors, specialty contractors and related firms perform the majority of commercial, industrial, and institutional construction work in the Philadelphia five-county region. As a recognized spokesperson for the construction industry in this area, GBCA provides a comprehensive array of Education, Safety, Legislative, Public Relations, Labor Relations, and Industry Relations services for its members and the industry. Visit www.gbca.com for more information.