Teamsters’ concrete strike enters 3rd month with no progress

Contribute to strike fund, visit picket lines to support Teamsters 174 strikers

TUKWILA, Wash. (Feb. 4, 2022) — The nine-week Unfair Labor Practice strike by 330 Teamsters against Gary Merlino Construction, Stoneway Concrete, Cadman, Glacier/CalPortland, Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel, and Lehigh Cement continues — with no end in sight. The rank-and-file bargaining committee and their union representatives from Teamsters Local 174 remain willing to talk through and work around key disagreements, but employer representatives have refused to talk since a failed mediation session on Jan. 20 yielded no progress.

The strike by the concrete mixer drivers and concrete plant workers has now entered its third month. The workers began their strike on Dec. 3, 2021, to demand that the companies that control the concrete industry in the Seattle area stop violating federal labor laws that protect workers’ rights. After nine weeks of the strike, the Seattle metropolitan area’s $23 billion construction industry has been severely disrupted as projects grind to a halt without concrete.

TAKE A STAND — Here’s how can support these striking workers and help them hold the line “one day longer.” Make a contribution to the Teamsters Local 174 Merlino Heavy Highway and Sand & Gravel / Cement Industries Striking Workers Assistance Fund. Checks made out to “Teamsters 174 Worker Assistance Fund” can be mailed to: Teamsters Local 174, 14675 Interurban Ave. S. Suite 303, Tukwila, WA, 98168.

You can also visit a picket line from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. — donations of firewood for burn barrels, food, drinks are greatly appreciated — at the following locations:

Calportand
Seattle – 5900 West Marginal Way SW
Kenmore – 6425 NE 175th St
Snoqualmie – 5601 396th Dr SE

Cadman
Seattle – 5225 E Marginal Way S
Redmond – 18816 NE 80th St

Lehigh Cement
Seattle – 5225 E Marginal Way S

Stoneway
Seattle – 3803 E Marginal Way S

Merlino
South Park – 9125 10th Ave S

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

Learn more at Teamsters174.net.

PREVIOUSLY at The Stand:

In strike’s 6th week, Teamsters shut down Port of Everett (Jan. 12)
Stop Grinch bosses from stealing Christmas for Teamsters families (Dec. 15)
AFL-CIO’s Fred Redmond visits Teamsters picket (Dec. 8)
Concrete solidarity: Strike grows in King County (Dec. 6)
Gary Merlino drivers’ ULP strike continues (Nov. 29)