The Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) reports that collective bargaining negotiations for union craft workers in the construction industry settled in 2024 yielded an average wage-and-benefits increase of 4.7 percent, the same rate of increase as 2023.By dollar amount, the average first-year increase negotiated in 2024 was $2.90, down just slightly from last year. The CLRC noted, however, that the last two years saw significant increases compared to historical settlements and believes that the lag in multiyear contracts and inflation are now showing up in first-year settlements. The CLRC projects the increase in first-year settlements to slow in 2025-2026 but still increase on a dollar basis.
Regionally, the CLRC saw the largest increases in the Northwest and South regions and the smallest increase in the Northeast. On a craft bases, the pipefitters/plumbers saw the steepest increase at 6 percent ($4.00), and all but two crafts, the plasters and ironworkers, saw an increase of less than 4 percent.
The full report is accessible to AGC members and chapter staff from 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 to access the material.
Collective bargaining chapters are reminded to please send new contract data directly to CLRC promptly upon settlement of collective bargaining negotiations. Chapters and members are also reminded that CLRC consulting and custom research serviceson local matters at a discount to AGC affiliates. This includes market share analysis, union/nonunion wage and fringe benefit comparisons, collective bargaining agreement language cost analysis, workforce/labor analysist and projections, and more.