STL bricklayers return to work after month-long strike

Bricklayers Local 1 and the Mason Contractors Association reached an agreement on a new six-year contract Sunday, putting union members back on the job after a 35-day strike.

Members of the St. Louis-based union went on strike at midnight May 21 when the previous four-year contract with the association expired.

Local 1 President Don Brown said the new contract protects the group’s pension plan and includes a $7.10 an hour pay increase over the life of the agreement – set to expire June 1, 2021 – in incremental annual phases.

Ninety-five companies employ members of the union in the St. Louis area. About 42 are covered in a single agreement with the association and the remaining 53 are independent contractors with similar agreements. According to officials with Local 1, an unspecified number of contractors left the association during the strike and signed independent agreements.

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