Union contract negotiators got off to a blazing start this year, securing an average first-year pay raise of 7.3% in collective bargaining agreements ratified in the first quarter.
If signing bonuses and other lump-sum payments are included as part of annual pay hikes, the Q1 average balloons to a full 8%, according to Bloomberg Law’s latest Quarterly Union Wage Data report.
Both averages represent the highest quarterly wage increases negotiated in union contracts since Bloomberg Law started tracking wage settlements in 1988.
The report’s calculations are based on an analysis of wage changes reported in 155 union contracts ratified in ...