Pressure mounts in concrete strike as King County offers $35 million bargaining chip

Teamsters 174 demanded Wednesday that employers sit down at the negotiating table and resume contract negotiations amid a concrete strike that has stopped work at construction sites throughout Western Washington.

The negotiating table was a literal one, set up outside of Gary Merlino Construction just as the demand was made through a megaphone, underscoring the urgency of the situation as thousands risk losing their livelihoods this month.

The concrete supplier is one of six which provide supplies to construction projects, including expansions on Sound Transit’s light rail, Microsoft’s headquarters, and the Washington State Convention Center.

The halt on supplies is reaching a critical stage. In a press conference Wednesday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and Sound Transit Executive Peter Rogoff stood outside a rapid ride expansion project in White Center to announce that, if supplier negotiations do not conclude by Feb. 20, construction projects around the Puget Sound region, including West Seattle Bridge repair, and additions to Seattle Department of Transportation’s rapid ride, will hit a “significant delay,” according to Mayor Harrell.

Gary Merlino Construction did not respond to the Teamsters 174’s bargaining request Wednesday, and the union reports no movement on negotiations across the board with all six suppliers after failed federal mediation was brought in late January.

This has forced the county’s hand, and they are dangling a “first ever” Request for Qualifications (RFQ) toward the concrete suppliers — a direct agreement with the county that they estimate is valued at $28 million to $35 million over a three to four year period. Notably, the contract would ensure similar checks on work stoppages to that which the county uses with directly contracted construction projects.

Layoffs ‘into the thousands, more to come’ as concrete worker strike nears third month

“Securing new suppliers now ensures that over the next six years we can continue to build crucial projects, like this rapid ride line,” Constantine said Wednesday.

“It means we can begin additional construction on key pieces of infrastructure, like the massive Harborview Medical Center expansion that was approved by the voters, electrifying Metro’s south bus base to speed our conversion to an all electric fleet, building floodwalls in South King County to deal with increased storms in the winters here due to climate change, replacing fish blocking culverts to help us restore our salmon runs, to improving wastewater facilities like West Point, and road and bridge safety projects across the unincorporated area,” he continued. “All of these require a reliable supply and a significant supply of concrete.”

A coalition of 30 contractors and developers, including Turner Construction, McKinstry, and Seller Construction, is adding further pressure to the employers and Teamsters to reach an agreement. They released a public statement Wednesday “calling for an end to the strike and a return to work while the sides continue negotiations on the contract renewal.”

They estimate that over 15,000 employees could be out of work by the end of February, including the 300 currently on strike, and the tradespeople impacted by site shutdowns over the lack of supply.

“We respect the right of the parties to bargain,” wrote Bill Ketcham, Turner Construction’s GM, in a news release. “But the standstill has now shut down dozens of public and private construction projects and thrown thousands of people out of work at a time when the pandemic has already ravaged our economy. People need to get back to work now, while negotiations continue in earnest.”

“Concrete is quite literally the foundation of our region’s infrastructure, and it’s clear the impacts of this labor dispute are far reaching. Without these construction projects, our region will fall behind at a time when we need to push further and faster,” Executive Constantine added. “All parties need to get back to the negotiating table quickly and resolve the dispute so everyone in King County can get back to work building our future.”

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