Changes loom for construction industry

New York’s construction industry may need to brace itself for major changes come June 30, 2011, when 30 construction unions have expiring contracts. Major developers say they won’t start building again without significant cuts in their labor costs, with benefit and wage savings of 20 percent or more, the Daily News reported. Nonunion contractors are improving their skills and working on Manhattan properties that have previously been union-built. And union contractors — faced with a 20 percent unemployment rate — have accepted work-rule changes and wage freezes on a project-by-project basis, but they don’t want to commit to permanent changes, according to the Daily News. What happens after June 30 could have lasting effects on New York’s construction industry. Contractors could reach new deals, unions could abandon construction sites, or developers could bring nonunion workers onto jobs and deal with the consequences. [NYDN]