After the collapse of the financial markets in early September 2008, New York City’s construction industry needed something to keep it breathing. Jobs had grown scarce following the unprecedented development boom of the mid-2000s, and once the financial crisis hit, banks stopped lending. New construction was almost nonexistent, and some lenders even were calling back their loans, shuttering hundreds of active jobsites and sending thousands of workers home.
As the fear and uncertainty spread across the industry, Lou Colletti and Gary LaBarbera sprang into action, negotiating a project labor agreement for private work that, to date, has jump-started 43 projects worth more than $7.5 billion and has saved or created 25,000 jobs.