Construction contractors have been pressuring unions to accept 20 percent pay cuts and make other concessions, arguing they need the savings to be more competitive when bidding for a limited number of jobs.

About 30 labor agreements within the construction industry are being negotiated this spring. The painters union, District Council 9, was the first to sign a new labor deal and have agreed to changes that will reduce the cost of overtime and increase productivity.

Bruce Ruinsky, of the Association of Master Painters and Decorators, which represents employers, said the changes should reduce labor cost by 20 percent.

" I think it's an example of labor and management partners coming together and really thinking outside of the box to find ways to accomplish common goals even in a crisis," Ruinsky said.

Projects are scarce and union contractors are losing jobs to competitors who use cheaper non-union labor, which is leading to a 20 percent unemployment rate among union painters, Ruinsky said.

Recent labor statistics also confirm the high unemployment rate among construction workers in general. But DC 9 spokesman John Kittle said high unemployment is not unusual in the construction industry since work is episodic — although he said there has been a lack of work for about three years. 

"We had to address the issues in the industry, the economy, the real world," he said.

Painters will still receive $4.50 raises over four years but they will also make concessions that include allowing employers flexibility in scheduling the start of the work day, Kittle said.

"Maybe it could take somebody half an hour to an hour to get to his work station while he's on the clock," he said, "so if you allow them to come in at 8 o'clock when everybody else is already up they could get right on the elevator and shoot up to their station and start work."

While the union said it held its ground on wages it also acknowledges in the outer boroughs there will be a 20 percent hourly rate reduction. According to Kittle, the provision is nothing new and has already been happening on a more case by case basis.

The new contract went into effect earlier this month and covers roughly 3,000 commercial painters doing work in all five boroughs and some surrounding suburbs.