Historic Economic Recovery Project Labor Agreement is Expected to Stimulate 10,000 Jobs and over $2 Billion in Construction Activity NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Under a historic compact that will deliver significant cost reductions at major construction sites across the city, New York City's construction unions and their management counterparts have agreed to reduce building costs by an average of 16-21 percent at a dozen, previously delayed or stalled development projects. "The Economic Recovery Project Labor Agreement" (PLA) will stimulate over $2 billion in construction activity, creating or saving 10,000 jobs. In addition to the twelve projects where the PLA has been approved, the potential exists for thousands of more jobs to be created and billions more in construction spending to be sparked on more than two dozen additional projects for which applications to use the PLA have been submitted and are in the process of being reviewed for approval. The unprecedented agreement between the Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC) and the Building Trades Employers' Association (BTEA), which in effect represents the majority of the unionized construction industry in New York City, is the by-product of months of negotiations between labor and management. Under the terms of the Economic Recovery Project Labor Agreement (PLA), the cost of private unionized construction is expected to decline by an average of 16-21 percent at each location. Reductions will come from work rule changes accepted by labor and from reduced profit margins and other concessions accepted by construction contractors. As a result of the agreement, construction is now expected to move forward at the twelve sites.
