Concrete strike negotiations worsen as supplier offers terms that penalize picket lines

On Wednesday, Gary Merlino Construction — one of the concrete suppliers involved in the ongoing months-long Seattle-area concrete strike — offered its latest terms to Teamsters Local 174, the union which represents more than 300 drivers involved in the strike. Those terms stipulate that employees under the bargaining agreement must work behind picket lines in order to avoid disciplinary action.

“Employees will not be discharged, disciplined, or permanently replaced for any protected activity related to the recognition of a primary picket line approved by the Union party to this Agreement. As an exception to this provision, the employees in this bargaining unit may not honor and must continue to work behind the picket line against or involving Stoneway Concrete and any other business owned or operated by Gary Merlino Construction or any of its affiliates,” read the agreement’s terms, obtained by MyNorthwest.

The Teamsters characterize the move as an attempt at “regressive union-busting,” saying the parties are further apart from resolving negotiations than when the Gary Merlino Construction strike began in November before spreading to other suppliers in early December.

“For someone who hasn’t been in a union and maybe doesn’t understand the importance of picket line language, it is the holy grail to us,” wrote Bryan Ayers, dump truck driver at Gary Merlino Construction and member of Teamster Bargaining Committee, in a news release. “They put that in their proposal to make sure we didn’t get a contract today. The regressive proposals were bad, but we will never let them gut our picket line language, the foundation upon which unions are built.”

Sources tell MyNorthwest that the decision to offer terms directly to Gary Merlino Construction’s employees, jointly owned alongside Stoneway Concrete, is irregular. Traditionally, the suppliers use AGC agreements — like the building, heavy, and highway construction labor agreement signed in 2021 — as a template to offer industry-wide terms to the concrete drivers currently on strike.

The employers have historically deferred to federal mediation as the preferred avenue for negotiations. The latest talks in late February failed. In a written statement, four suppliers represented at the negotiations labeled claims of union-busting “irrational and unfounded,” citing 18% wage increases offered over a three-year contract.

Concrete flows into Puget Sound region job sites, absent the Teamsters

“The Teamsters initiated this strike and continue to prolong it, apparently without regard to the impacts to its own members and the Region,” reads a statement on behalf of Cadman, Glacier, Stoneway, and Salmon Bay. “The union’s actions have caused the lapse of healthcare for its members and layoffs throughout the industry and continue to hold the community hostage to meet their demands. They have shown no boundaries and, instead, create conspiracy theories and lies to portray the companies as solely responsible for the dispute.”

Gary Merlino Construction and Stoneway Concrete could not be immediately reached for comment regarding their Wednesday proposal.

“Now that the employers have again demonstrated a refusal to bargain in good faith, we will be continuing to strike until they return to the table with a real proposal,” added Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “We are so disappointed that the employer is sticking with their smug, insulting nonsense without a single thought to the 15,000 people currently out of work because of this ongoing strike. Today they just threw fuel on the fire, and it was a waste of time for every person in that room. The members have now seen firsthand how little their employer really cares about them.”

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