Talks fail to crack concrete stalemate

A federal mediator said he'll keep trying to reach a solution between striking operating engineers and four major concrete providers after the only round of talks ended with no agreement.

Both sides met Monday with Jeff Clark of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. No more talks have been scheduled.

"So far we haven't found common ground," Clark said. "I'm going to stay with it until we can find some sort of resolution."

About 100 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 went on strike July 31 against Redmond-based Cadman, Seattle-based Glacier Northwest and Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel, and Renton-based Stoneway Concrete over disagreements about pay raises and the ability of workers to support other strikes.

Developers, contractors and others in the construction industry are trying to work on tasks that don't require concrete, but some have reached the point where that is no longer possible.

The strike has delayed some projects, including a culvert replacement in Hobart, construction of a shaft for the Brightwater sewage-treatment plant, the Master Builders Association Care Foundation's transitional housing project in Bellevue, and Sound Transit's Eastgate access ramp on Interstate 90.

Sound Transit spokesman Geoff Patrick said the ramp was to open Sept. 4 but will have to be rescheduled.

The strike has caused some layoffs of carpenters, cement masons and other workers, said Chris Elwell, executive secretary at the Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades Council. But many are sent to new projects almost immediately.

"It's not anything that's out of the ordinary for these workers," Elwell said. "What is of note is that it is as a direct result of the strike."

Allison Butcher, a spokeswoman for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, said that because most concrete work is in the summer, the strikes have had a greater impact.

Barry Meade, Cadman's vice president and general manager, said the company was looking at options, including hiring replacement workers, but hasn't decided how to handle the strike.

The strike began at midnight July 31, after the union rejected a contract offer that would have raised pay $3.95 an hour over three years.

The engineers make $22 to $24 an hour.

The union also wanted a change in contract language that would allow them to honor other unions' picket lines.

Operating engineers are responsible for operating heavy machinery, such as cranes and bulldozers.

Bibeka Shrestha: 206-464-2436 or bshrestha@seattletimes.com