NEW YORK, NY June 26, 2009 —Thousands of the city's unionized construction workers have agreed to accept lower wages for the promise of more work. The latest concession goes further than a labor agreement from last month that froze wages and limited overtime.

The Building and Construction Trades Council wouldn't give out any information before deadline on which unions would be affected, but WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has details on one union.

REPORTER: Union officials confirmed that the 21,000 member carpenters union has reduced hourly wages from about $43 to $41, and taken an additional $2 hit off of their benefits package.

The lower wages only apply to a handful of projects that were in danger of stalling. One example is Frank Gehry's Beekman Tower in Lower Manhattan, where developer Forest City Ratner was even contemplating building only half of the original height.

Other trade unions say they will take similar action if it means preserving their members jobs.

REPORTER: WNYC reporter Matthew Schuerman. Some construction union locals are reporting unemployment is as high as 20 percent.