Two contractors can take off identical quantities from the same drawings and still submit bids that are hundreds of thousands of dollars apart. The most common reason is not the quantities — it is the labor basis behind the unit rates. Whether a project is union, prevailing-wage or open-shop changes labor cost, payroll burden, compliance overhead and even crew productivity assumptions. This guide explains what actually moves in the estimate, and which New Jersey and New York rules to verify before you price public work.
The three labor bases, briefly
Union (collective bargaining) work prices labor from the applicable trade agreement: base wage plus fringe contributions (pension, health, annuity, training) plus working rules that affect cost — shift premiums, overtime definitions, crew composition and jurisdictional assignments. Estimates must respect crew mixes and apprentice ratios in the agreement, not a generic labor rate.
Prevailing-wage work applies government-determined minimum wage-plus-fringe rates by craft and county on covered public projects, whether or not your workforce is union. The determination in force at bid time (and its escalation during the project) belongs in the estimate, along with the cost of certified payroll and compliance administration.
Open-shop (merit shop) work prices labor from your actual market wages and burden. This gives flexibility, but estimates still need realistic burden build-ups — payroll taxes, workers' compensation, insurance, small tools — and defensible productivity assumptions.
New Jersey: the rules to check before bidding public work
- Thresholds. The NJ Prevailing Wage Act applies to public work valued at $19,375 or more for municipal government work (threshold effective July 1, 2024, CPI-adjusted every five years) and $2,000 or more for other public entities such as state agencies, counties and boards of education. Source: NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
- Rate determinations. Craft rates by county are issued by the NJDOL Division of Wage and Hour Compliance. Pull the determination for the actual award date basis in your bid documents — not last year's schedule.
- Contractor registration. Contractors and subcontractors bidding NJ public work must hold a Public Works Contractor Registration (PWCR) certificate; applications have been online-only since August 2024.
- Certified payroll. Since August 15, 2024, registered public works contractors must also submit certified payrolls through the state's online NJ Wage Hub. That administration time is a real cost — carry it.
- State bidding portal. State-level opportunities run through NJSTART, the Treasury's eProcurement system; local entities bid separately.
New York: the rules to check
- Article 8. Public work in New York carries prevailing wages and supplements under Labor Law Article 8. The NYS DOL Bureau of Public Work publishes the annual schedule each July 1, and electronic certified payroll filing applies to Article 8 projects.
- New York City. For NYC agency contracts, the NYC Comptroller sets and enforces prevailing wage schedules under Labor Law §220 — a separate schedule from the state's, and the one that governs NYC public work estimates.
- Wicks Law. On public projects above regional thresholds — $3M in NYC, $1.5M in Nassau/Suffolk/Westchester, $500k elsewhere (General Municipal Law §101) — plumbing, HVAC/steam and electrical work bid as separate prime contracts, which changes how general-conditions and coordination costs are distributed across estimates.
What this does to the estimate, line by line
- Wage + fringe base: the same carpenter-hour can differ dramatically between an open-shop rate and a county determination with supplements. The takeoff does not change; the extension does.
- Burden and compliance: certified payroll administration, monitoring and registration compliance belong in overhead or general conditions on covered work.
- Productivity and crew rules: union working rules and apprentice ratios shift labor-hour assumptions, not just rates.
- Escalation: multi-year public projects need the anticipated determination changes priced in, not just the bid-day schedule.
- Bid strategy: Wicks-type multiple-prime structures move scope between bid packages — a coverage review before submission prevents double-carrying or gaps.
How we handle it
US Civil Genix prepares estimates and quantity takeoffs on a union, prevailing-wage or open-shop basis as the project requires, and supports the bid package around them. If you are pricing NJ or NY public work, send the drawings and the wage determination reference and we will price to the correct basis. See our bid support and construction cost estimating services, or request a quote with your documents.
Rules and thresholds cited above were verified against the linked official sources in August 2026. Always confirm the determination and thresholds in force for your specific bid documents.