February 4, 2022

No end in sight to concrete strike as many projects, big and small, languish

Photos by Benjamin Minnick [enlarge]

It’s been many weeks since Gary Merlino Construction has had concrete to build out the new Alaskan Way in Seattle.

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Forms at The Jack office building jobsite in Seattle await concrete.

It's been two months since the last batch of concrete was delivered to a Sound Transit jobsite. The flow was shut off Dec. 3 by over 300 striking members of Teamsters Local 174 that have a contract beef with several area concrete suppliers and Gary Merlino Construction — and there is no relief in sight.

The last meeting between Local 174 and the companies was on Jan. 20 before the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. That apparently didn't go well, as a post that same day on the union's website said: “The meeting went nowhere and the two sides are no closer to an agreement.” It also called it a “failed mediation session (that) yielded no progress.”

A post a day after the meeting from four of the concrete suppliers — Glacier Northwest, Stoneway Concrete, Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel and Cadman — said FMCS has stated that all details of the mediation process will remain confidential. The union has mentioned in past web posts that the strike also involves CalPortland (the parent of Glacier) and Lehigh Cement.

The concrete companies say they remain committed to the FMCS process as the best way to reach an agreement.

Last week, the companies said their offer to the union includes a 17.6% pay hike over the next three years, more pension contributions, “excellent” medical benefits and “generous” retiree medical insurance rarely found in other labor contracts. They posted a graphic showing yearly compensation (combined working and non-working hours) going from about $95,000 in 2020 to about $110,000 in 2023. Another graphic showed the annual total wage and fringe package going from about $136,000 in 2020 to about $156,000 in 2023.

Rick Hicks, Local 174 secretary-treasurer, said in a Jan. 12 post: “These giant, multinational construction companies are demanding that workers accept a package of wages, health care and retirement that would be a decrease in compensation over three years when you take inflation into account. This package would also be significantly less than the compensation packages other construction workers in Seattle receive.”

There has been no word as to when the two sides may meet again. David D'Hondt, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Washington, said on Thursday that no meetings are scheduled and “it might be a while.” He added the “Teamsters aren't excited about mediation.”

Meanwhile, construction projects needing concrete in King County are grinding to a halt.

Sound Transit has been updating the status of its projects on a weekly basis. The most recent report, dated Jan. 28, said four major light rail extension projects have seen 19,212 cubic yards of concrete miss deliveries since Dec. 3. The agency says those deliveries equate to a bumper-to-bumper line of 1,900 ready-mix trucks that would stretch from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to downtown Seattle. It also says 187 workers have been laid off and 137 more are projected to be let go in the near future.

Sound Transit's Lynnwood Link extension has been most affected by the strike, with 14,827 cubic yards of missed concrete and 67 workers laid off. The agency says another 6,650 cubic yards of concrete were scheduled for this week and next. It noted that concrete supplied north of the King/Snohomish county line initially wasn't subject to the strike, but deliveries in Snohomish County have become sporadic due to picketing at concrete plants in that area.

Other light rail projects affected by the strike are the Federal Way, East Link and downtown Redmond extensions. Sound Transit says there is an urgent need for concrete for the Redmond project to complete and stabilize unfinished retaining walls. At the Federal Way project, the concrete pour for the Kent/Des Moines garage deck has been delayed.

Sound Transit says its Federal Way team has been working with Corliss Resources, which has operations in Pierce County, to supply concrete that was missed in all areas of the project except the garage.

Two big projects underway for Waterfront Seattle — the replacement Alaskan Way and the Union Street pedestrian bridge — continue to be impacted by the strike.

A Waterfront Seattle spokeswoman said the group won't know the full extent of the delay until concrete deliveries restart.

“Two additional Waterfront projects planned to begin construction early this spring are now also impacted/delayed, as they cannot start until planned work is completed by the Main Corridor (Alaskan Way) project,” she wrote in an email. “Our contractors continue to do the best they can to reorganize planned work to accommodate delays in concrete availability; however, our projects are not advancing as previously planned.”

Another affected project is Urban Visions' The Jack office building along Alaskan Way in Seattle, where the jobsite has sat quiet for weeks. General contractor JTM Construction says the strike is having a significant impact on this and its other projects.

“Several of our Seattle and Bellevue commercial projects have come to a standstill since the strike started,” said JTM President Martin O'Leary. “As frustrating it is that we are not able to advance our project schedules, it is more disappointing that we have had to temporarily lay off countless tradesmen and tradeswomen, as have our trade partners, as well as our general contractor peers while waiting for the strike to be resolved.”

The strike has also impacted the south access surface street connections project that Scarsella Brothers is building for the state Department of Transportation as the final roadway work around the south portal of the new state Route 99 tunnel in Seattle.

On its project website, WSDOT said: “Due to labor issues, most construction activities affecting streets and access in the project area are currently paused. Pouring concrete is required to complete road work in the middle of First Avenue South, between South Royal Brougham Way and South Dearborn Street. Concrete is also required for road work on Alaskan Way, and for continuing progress on the tunnel operations building maintenance garage.

“Once the labor issues are resolved, crews plan to spend about two weeks completing work in the middle of First Avenue South.”

The strike started last November against Gary Merlino Construction, with 34 union dump truck drivers walking off the job over wages and retirement benefits. Since then, it has snowballed into 330 Local 174 members picketing the additional companies associated with the region's concrete industry.

“The strike has created emotional and financial stress and frustration throughout the industry,” O'Leary said. “Hopefully, the parties involved in the dispute can find a way to resolve the strike in short order.”