Unions’ Average Pay Hike Reaches 3.1 Percent in 2018 Contracts

First-year wage hikes negotiated in union contracts continue to climb in 2018. The average reached 3.1 percent as of May 20, up slightly from 3 percent two weeks earlier, according to biweekly calculations from Bloomberg Law’s database of U.S. wage settlements.

The 3.1 percent average wage increase is significantly higher than the 2.5 percent reported last year during the comparable period, Bloomberg Law’s analysis of the data shows. The gap between 2018 and 2017 averages is the highest so far this year, and the 3.1 percent for this reporting period is the highest average since mid-February.

A larger-than-average first-year increase ...