The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is scheduled to vote on its controversial Hudson River toll/fare hike proposal this Friday, three days after it held a series of public hearings in both states. NY/NJ residents reportedly packed hearing rooms and vented frustration over the hefty hikes, which include a near doubling of the peak-hour cash toll to $15 this year and an additional $2 in 2014. The PA cites several factors for a need to raise revenues, including more than $11 billion in funding necessary to rebuild the World Trade Center and $6 billion in increased security

Washington, D.C.-based Associated Builders and Contractors says its measure of the nation's construction industry backlog rose 10% in the second quarter to an average of 8.1 months, up from 7.3 months the previous quarter. ABC's Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) is 12% higher than a year ago, and backlog has expanded in all regions, particularly in the South in which project orders rose 1.87 months during the quarter compared to a year ago, the trade group says. The Northeast, however, posted the smallest gain, 0.04 months, from the same period last year. ABC expresses caution about the overall rise in activity,

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has scheduled nine public hearings on August 16 in response to the controversial Hudson River toll/fare hikes it proposed earlier this month. The PA cites several factors for a need to raise revenues, including more than $11 billion in funding necessary to rebuild the World Trade Center and $6 billion in increased security requirement costs since the September 11 attacks. The hearings will take place in both New York and New Jersey and registration at the agency’s Web site is required. The PA will accept comments online through 6 p.m. August

U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson, Jr. ruled last week that project labor agreements (PLAs) between New York City and the Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group that represents about 50 local trades unions, do not violate the federal National Labor Relations Act. The agreements, first reached in 2009 to “improve efficiency by preventing strikes and standardizing work rules,” include the construction of a new police academy and a 911 call center, both part of $6 billion worth of city infrastructure projects.   To back up its decision, the court referred to a U.S. Supreme Court decision, which determined

The construction industry unemployment rate fell to 13.6% in July, from 17.3% in the same year-ago period, according to recently released analysis of federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The number of unemployed people who previously worked in construction shrank by nearly 400,000 in the same time period, says Ken Simonson, chief economist at AGCA, Arlington, VA. However, the July 2011 employment total of 5,532,000 was only 32,000 higher than in July 2010, he says. "It is encouraging that the construction industry has added 54,000 jobs, or 1 percent, since hitting bottom last January," Simonson says.

Concrete workers from locals 6A, 18A and 20, including workers on the World Trade Center site and Weill Cornell Medical College research center, returned to work Aug. 4 following a three day strike that began Monday. The unions have agreed to extend their contract, which expired on July 29, to August 16, says Louis Coletti, president, Building Trades Employers’ Association. However, an agreement has not yet been reached on new terms including a proposed 20% wage cut.   Separately, independent arbitrator Richard Adelman said on Tuesday that Concrete Workers District Council Local 16, an umbrella union group that also had

Talks continued Aug. 3 between the Cement League and Concrete Workers locals 6A, 18A and 20, following a worker strike that began Monday, says Louis Coletti, president of Building Trades Employers’ Association. The strike includes concrete workers at the World Trade Center site although some of those workers have returned to their jobs, says industry sources.   “They should not use the WTC as a bargaining tip,” Coletti says. Management’s proposed 20% wage reduction “would not affect a single person on the WTC site but rather, that reduction would affect new residential/hotel projects,” Coletti says. “They should go back to

The Cement League and Concrete Workers locals 6A, 18A and 20 met August 2 for discussions following a worker strike that began Monday, three days after their contract expired, says Louis Coletti, president of Building Trades Employers’ Association.    The union’s contract expired June 30 but was extended until July 29. Coletti says that workers on certain unspecified jobs have returned to work but that others remain on strike. He did not provide further details.    The union refused to comment on the strike, and the Cement League was unavailable for comment at press time. In other union news, the

The construction industry is not recovering as quickly as expected, says Robert A. Murray, McGraw-Hill Construction's vice president of economic affairs. Total construction starts in 2011 are forecast to reach $413 billion, a 3% decline from 2010, Murray says in an update of MHC's mid-year outlook. Expectations were higher for this year as starts had leveled off last year after plunging 24% in 2009. First-half 2011 starts have "bounced along the bottom," providing little evidence that the industry is heading toward sustained growth, Murray says. He cites a weak single-family housing market and a steep decline in public works.There are

The first-in, first-out rule does not always apply in the publicity business, or so Glaziers Local 1281 and the Window and Plate Glass Dealers have learned. Back in April, the two organizations were the first—of all New York City unions and contractors with contracts set to expire in the April-June cycle—to reach agreement. However, that news was only announced July 20, overshadowed in part by the highly publicized collective bargaining talks between the Operating Engineers Locals 14 and 15 and the Building Contractors Association, Contractors Association of Greater New York and Cement League, says Jerry Haber, a Window and Plate