Labor Relations
Con E 221
1
The Construction Worker
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For the most part – a skilled artisan with no
permanent place of employment
The average construction worker has no fixed
relationship with any one contractor, and his
tenure of employment with a given employer is
normally indefinite and temporal (not necessary
a bad situation)
Why is it important to understand this aspect of
a construction workers life?
2
Percent Change in Construction Employment
(June 99 – June 00)
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Overall construction +4.5%
 Residential +3.9
 Nonresidential +3.2
 Highway and street +2.0
 Special trade contractors +5.4
Manufacturing -0.1
Total U.S. employment +2.4
3
Construction Industry Employment
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Largest single economic effort in our nation
Provides about 6% of the total national civil
employment
9% of all construction workers are women
Relies on a younger work force – 25% are 30
years and younger
4
Median Hourly Earnings
for Non-Union
Construction Labor in 2001
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Electrician Journeyman
Bricklayers
Carpenters
$23.10
$22.80
$19.72
Source: ENR – Third Quarterly Cost Report, 9/30/02
5
Median Annual Earnings
for Construction Managers in 2000
Electrical work
$60,300
Nonresidential building construction
$59,470
Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning
$58,500
Heavy construction, except highway
$57,280
Residential building construction
$53,510
6
Construction Engineering Graduates
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According to a 2001 salary survey by the ISU
College of Engineering, candidates with a
bachelor’s degree in construction engineering
received job offers averaging $42,732 a year.
7
Employee Benefits
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Which of the following employee benefits are
mandated by law?
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A.
B.
C.
D.
Social Security (F.I.C.A.)
Medicare
Worker’s Compensation
All of the above
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Voluntary Employee Benefits
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Pension plans
Profit Sharing
Medical Insurance
Life Insurance
Paid Vacations
Paid Holidays
Sick Leave
Bonuses
401k Plans
Employee Stock Ownership Plans
9
Cost of Fringe Benefits
25 to 30% of wages paid
$45,000 / YR Salary
$13,500 / YR Cost of Fringe
Benefits
10
The Union Contractor
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Open shop
 Hired directly by and works for their employer
 Hourly pay rate set by contractor and may vary per
worker
Union shop
 Hired through a union hall
 Work under a union foreman
 Union membership is required to work
 All workers of same type (i.e. journeyman carpenter)
are all paid the same hourly wage per union contract
11
Role of the Unions
Unions have a stabilizing
influence on a basically
unstable area of business
12
Union History
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Originated 150 years ago
Stable in the U.S for only about the past 50 yrs.
American Federation of Labor – 1886
 Skilled craft worker
 Construction trades - charter member of AFL
Congress of Industrial Organization – 1938
 split from AFL in 1936
 Rejoined AFL in 1955
Today known as AFL-CIO
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AFL-CIO Construction Unions
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How many unions form the Building and
Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO?
A. 8
B. 10
C. 12
D. 14
E. 20
Correct answer is D. 14
Approximately what percentage of the
construction industry work force is unionized?
A. 12
B. 20
C. 25
D. 28
Correct answer is C. 25%
E. 32
14
Union Work Rules
Written in collective bargaining agreement
Issues covered
 Hourly wages – straight-time, overtime (1.5X,
2X)
 Multiple shifts – second or third shift (shift
differential pay – work 7 hrs. for 8 hrs. pay)
 Overtime and holidays
 Over 8 hrs up to 10 hrs – O.T. at 1.5x
 Over 10 hrs – O.T. at 2x
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Union Work Rules
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Apprenticeship program
 Years 1 – 4, with pay scale changes per year
Reporting time and normal work hours
Jurisdiction of work – work assignments
Prohibition of piecework – paying workers by
quantity of work completed, NOT by the hour
Personal tools owned by worker
Tools to be provided by contractor
Safety policies
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Job Steward
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Assigned by union with contractor’s agreement
Worker assigned to be the worker’s contact
with the union
Checks for paid union dues
First point of contact for worker with complaint
regarding work conditions
Calls the business agent with the union
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The Business Agent
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Helps negotiate agreements
Helps to enforce the agreements
Works out grievances
Protects the union’s work jurisdiction
Go-between for the local members and the
employers
To the contractor the business agent is the local
union.
18
Collective Bargaining
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Collective bargaining is the process of obtaining
labor contracts between construction
companies and labor unions
Constitutes the essential basis for labormanagement relations in the unionized segment
of the construction industry.
19
Labor Agreements
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Also known as “Labor Contacts”
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Short-term interim to multiyear contact
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Long-term agreements – periodic pay
adjustments or wage reopener clauses
Stipulate wages, hours, fringe benefits,
overtime and working conditions
20
Labor Agreements (cont.)
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Also contain settlement of disputes, job
referral system, apprenticeship and grievance
procedures
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Many contain no-strike or no-lockout pledges
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No-strike clauses are conditional
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Grievance procedures have been exhausted
Employer is in noncompliance with
agreement provisions
21
Project Agreements
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Labor agreement for one specific project
Used on large projects only
Require all union construction trades on project
Prohibit
 Labor strikes, walkouts and slowdowns
Ban work jurisdiction disputes
What large construction project in Des Moines is
using a project labor agreement?
Iowa Events Center
22
Iowa Events Center
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Wells Fargo Arena
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HyVee Hall
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$212 million
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> 1,000,000 SF
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Merit-Shop Contractor
Open-Shop Contractor
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Hires all labor from local labor market
Is NOT signatory to construction trade unions
Sets own wage scales
Responsible for job training skills
Pay workers based on skills, or merit of each
employee
Workers tend to have multiple trade skills
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Merit-Shop Contractor
Open-Shop Contractor
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75%
95%
60%
60%
50%
of
of
of
of
of
all construction
all housing construction
building construction
engineering construction
industrial construction
25
Dual-Shop Operation
Double-Breasted Operation
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Contractor establishes two distinct and
independent construction companies
 One Union
 One Non-union
NLRB enforces rules
Both construction companies can have one
owner
Each company must have separate management
personnel
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Reminders
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Next class on Thursday, December 12th
 Final Exam review
27
Student Evaluation
of Augusto Canales
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