In 2009, New York City Building Trades Leaders and their signatory contractors sat down to hammer out a Project Labor Agreement that would reduce overall construction costs and expenses by between 15% and 20%.

The deal is set to expire at the end of March, and the two sides are in agreement that the deal was a success, and that they can secure even greater market recovery if they can figure out additional ways to lower costs further through a new agreement.

The initial agreement included provisions spelling out union work rule changes and slimmer contractor profit margins.  It has been credited with stimulating more than $7.4 billion in construction activity and saving 25,000 building trades jobs. The Building Trades Employer Association of New York says that the two sides are looking for more permanent changes this time, because it may be years before New York enjoys a construction boom that comes close to matching the one that flourished in the early 2000s.