Carpenters end walkout after getting 3-yr. pact.

Byline: Dave Davies

May 3--Five thousand carpenters are scheduled back on the job today after a two-day walkout that disrupted work on construction sites throughout the Philadelphia area. Contractors announced a settlement yesterday that gives carpenters working in the city an increase of just over 6 percent in their wage and benefit package. The three-year deal gives a slightly smaller increase to carpenters on suburban jobs, increasing the wage differential between suburban and city jobs. "This [cost] saving allows the carpenters to compete head-to-head with nonunion competition in the five counties," Walter Palmer, president of the General Building …