JUDGE APPROVES NEW WALL & CEILING CONTRACT

New York, NY —Federal District Court Judge Richard M. Berman today issued a decision and order approving a new five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that provides a 16.6% wage and benefit increase for members over the life of the contract. Following the April ratification of the agreement by the District Council’s Delegate Body, Judge Berman’s consent was the last step needed before the contract could go into effect.

Under the new CBA between the New York City District Council of Carpenters (DC) and the Association of Wall, Ceiling & Carpentry Industries of New York (Wall & Ceiling Association), the largest employer association in the DC, members will see a $6.93 per hour increase in their wage and benefit package within the first three months of implementation and another $7.20 per hour bump within the next three years.

“We believe—and the court agrees—that this is a good contract for the members and their families and the New York City construction industry,” said Stephen McInnis, Executive Secretary-Treasurer Pro Tem of the New York City District Council of Carpenters.

Besides the significant wage and benefit increases, the CBA provides for more favorable staffing provisions for members of the DC and for enforcement provisions to insure compliance with the terms and conditions and to prevent corruption. Judge Berman agreed that the new CBA’s full mobility feature allowing contractors directly to hire carpenters—except for Shop Stewards, who are assigned by the DC—could be implemented because of the anti-corruption compliance procedures that are new features of the CBA.

These anti-corruption compliance procedures were developed by the DC in conjunction with the Wall & Ceiling Association, the court appointed Review Officer, and the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Judge Berman’s decision and order requires the DC every thirty days to file a report with the court on the progress and effect of the new electronic jobs’ reporting procedures and the anti-corruption procedures under the CBA to ensure compliance with the court’s consent decree under which the DC has been operating since 1994.

"For the first time in nearly two years our members working for Wall-Ceiling contractors will be working under a current collective bargaining agreement,” McInnis said. “With Delegate approval, they can expect a significant increase in their paycheck in short order. This is something we endeavor to provide for our members working on other outstanding agreements in the next few weeks."

In 2012, the Wall & Ceiling Association provided approximately 5.8 million work hours for members. Those hours are projected to increase due to the negotiated terms and conditions ratified in the new contract. The wage and benefit package will also rise to $99.16 per hour on July 1, 2016, which is the beginning of the final year of the contract. That’s nearly a 17% increase from its current level of $85.03 an hour.

In addition, through increased hourly contributions, the CBA will safe-guard the District Council’s Welfare Fund, which is vital to active and retired members and their dependents. The DC’s Delegate Body had earlier voted to allocate the first $2.59 of the impending raises to the District Council Welfare Fund for medical and hospitalization coverage.

With more than 20,000 members in eight locals, the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters is one of the largest, most powerful trade unions in the construction industry.