Wash. construction workers strike for higher pay in battle with contractors

A union member pickets outside new Port Townsend elementary school in Jefferson County, Washington. Jefferson County government’s Twitter feed indicates the strike has cast doubt on whether the school will open as scheduled on September 4. Photo credit: Jefferson County

Union construction workers in western Washington, which includes Seattle, went on strike at 6 a.m. August 21 and remain locked in a battle with local contractors over wages, hours and working conditions.

The striking workers include crane operators who work in Seattle’s crane-dotted skyline, as well as workers in paving, concrete pumping, dirt work, hoisting and material handling. News reports say the strike has brought many large construction projects to a halt or slowed them. Seattle has the most cranes of any U.S. city, at 65, according to the latest Rider Levett Bucknall North America crane index report.

As the strike enters the second week, the Associated General Contractors of Washington, which is negotiating with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302, said it was disappointed at the union’s response to the proposed pay package increases. The AGC chapter said it offered a 15-percent increase spread over the next three years.

“Throughout the bargaining process, AGC of Washington has committed to bargaining in good faith with a goal to reach a ratified agreement,” says a statement on the organization’s website. “This commitment will continue as we look forward.”

The previous agreement between contractors and the union ended May 31. The strike does not apply to the entire union, as it has reached agreements with some independent contractors, according to the union’s website.

On August 28, the union and AGC representatives met for a second time without reaching a deal. On August 29, the union reported that it “has been approached by numerous independent contractors that are interested in signing one independent agreement with significant economic increases for our membership. The Local is currently meeting with contractors and their employees and may have agreements in place soon putting many of our members back to work.”

The union has also decided not to speak to the press about the strike. “The Local will not distract from the negotiation process by litigating its positions in the media,” says a statement on the website from International Vice President and Business Manager Daren Konopaski.

Under the Master Labor Agreement with AGC that expired May 31, wages range from $37.70 to $43.13 an hour. That level set June 1, 2017, was a 3 percent increase from 2016.

The AGC proposed agreement would raise wages $2.50 an hour this year, effective June 1, and about $2 a year for the next two years, according to a document on the AGC website. It also includes raising allocations for the health and pension funds. In all, the proposal calls for a 15-percent increase in wages and benefits spread over three years for a total of $9.07 more an hour. The AGC says this is higher than other agreements reached with the Local 612, carpenters, cement masons and laborers, which received pay and benefits increases ranging from 12.48 to 13.57 percent over three years for a total of $5.81 to $7.92 more an hour.

The proposal also offers the following language changes:

• On a special shift or a second shift on the two-shift operation, a premium of $2 will be paid for each hour worked.
• Overtime: Hours worked in excess of 12 hours in a single shift shall be paid double the straight time rate.
• An employee who returns to work with less than 8 hours off, shall be paid at the applicable overtime rate.
• The foreman premium would increase from $2.50 to $3.50 per hour over the highest classification under their supervision.
• Employees working in the defined Downtown Seattle Zone will be paid a premium of $1 for each hour worked.

Meanwhile, the union has begun paying striking workers picket pay. To be eligible, workers must log 20 hours a week on the picket line. They are paid $80 a day, with a maximum of $400 a week.

 

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