‘Going to take some time to ramp up,’ concrete suppliers say of deliveries after strike ends

More than 300 striking concrete delivery drivers agreed to return to work on Monday, effectively ending a Seattle-area labor strike— without an agreement in place — that had lasted industry-wide since Dec. 3. However, the six suppliers are not immediately ready to resume deliveries.

“It is going to take some [time] to ramp up operations,” Mark Firmani, a spokesperson on behalf of Glacier Northwest, Stonway Concrete, Salmon Bay and Gravel, and Cadman wrote to KIRO Newsradio.

Employers deny claims of collusion, price-fixing as Seattle-area concrete strike nears fifth month

While those suppliers have formally accepted the work return offer made by Teamsters Local 174, the union which represents the formerly striking concrete drivers, several logistical hurdles need to be cleared before deliveries can resume industry-wide. In March, the Teamsters had previously agreed to resume work on some select job sites: deliveries are already underway on the West Seattle Bridge repair project, for example.

“Jobsites have been idle for months. Before trucks can roll, concrete pumpers and other equipment need to be provisioned, and finishers need to be onsite to receive the concrete, for example. It is a complex, coordinated process, more involved than just delivering concrete,” Firmani adds.

Thousands of people on local building projects have been laid off, furloughed, or seen their hours cut back because of the drivers’ strike which began in November.

“This is great news for resuming work on the largest transit expansion program in the nation,” Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff wrote of the Teamsters’ work return offer.

“We thank the Teamsters for this action, and we urge the parties to work collaboratively on a long-term agreement that avoids risks of further disruptions. With months of backlogged concrete deliveries across the region, we all must now work together to dig ourselves out of a deep hole.”

KIRO Newsradio’s Diane Duthweiler contributed to this report.