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Tuesday, March 3 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET

Objections deadline extended to March 3, 2023

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.

�鶹��ý recently submitted formal comments to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) on a proposed rule to modify certain union representation case procedures. �鶹��ý joined with other employer groups in filing joint comments through the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (“CDW”) and filed our own supplementary comments focused on construction-industry issues.

In light of price escalation, supply chain challenges, and inflation, more industry practitioners are considering and using cost-of-the-work agreements that may or may not include a guaranteed maximum price (GMP). ConsensusDocs publishes several cost-of-the-work agreements and recently released a new standard contract document to support a cost-of-the-work agreement with a GMP as well as a directed change order standard form.

Includes March 2 session on complying with IRA bonus credit requirements of prevailing wage and apprenticeship

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently ruled that Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund may continue its lawsuit against Transervice Logistics, Inc. and Zenith Logistics, Inc. seeking allegedly outstanding pension fund contributions. The case examined two consolidated appeals, each involving a nearly identical collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between each employer and a union, and trust agreements between each employer and the plaintiff fund. The court was asked to determine whether the employers were required to maintain contributions to a multiemployer pension plan pursuant to so-called “evergreen clauses” that renewed the CBAs each year unless timely terminated.

On February 16, �鶹��ý weighed in on a proposed rule that would create new and onerous greenhouse gas reporting requirements for virtually every federal construction contractor.

On February 15, �鶹��ý participated in the FHWA virtual summit for Every Day Counts (EDC) on environmental product declarations to provide the contractors’ perspective on delivering sustainable infrastructure.

Diesel Fuel, Concrete, and Gypsum Products Continue to Post Steep One-Month and Year-over-Year Price Increases, While Prices for Lumber, Steel Mill Products Tumble Compared to Year-Ago Levels