The Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) reports that the first contract year of new collective bargaining settlements reached in 2022 for union craft workers in the construction industry yielded an average wage-and-benefit increase of 3.8 percent or $2.34. The rate of growth in package increases between 2020 and 2022 was higher than at any time in more than a decade, CLRC observed, attributing the steep incline to inflation rather than to labor shortages or COVID effects. CLRC projects annual increases to average approximately 4.2 percent by 2024.
Every region saw growth, and the increases were larger in 2022 than in 2021 for every region. Nearly every craft saw an increase of at least 3.3 percent, and eight crafts saw increases averaging at least 4.0 percent in 2022. In 2021, only two crafts averaged 3.3 percent or more.
The report also details the total package increases for all contract years. In 2022, the average increase was 3.1 percent. The average for all years is lower as it includes multiyear settlements negotiated before the inflation took its toll on recent settlements.
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 services on 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.