Contract rejected, Seattle-area construction strike continues

SEATTLE – A strike that shut down numerous construction sites in the area Aug. 1 continued today following the overwhelming defeat of a contract offer, union officials said.

Lawyers for both sides agreed to terms in a new offer on Thursday, but two days later employers rescinded the offer and "blew up the language," said Allan B. Darr, business manager for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302.

In a meeting late Sunday, only three members out of 100 in attendance voted to accept the offer and end the walkout, which has threatened highway, transit, sewage, apartment, condominium and commercial construction projects, Darr said.

"I'm demoralized. I'm disappointed," he said. "This economy is at an all-time high, and we're not asking for any egregious item."

Representatives from Cadman Inc. of Redmond and Stoneway Concrete in Renton were unavailable for comment Sunday, the King County Journal reported. Also on strike are workers at Glacier Northwest and Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel Co., both of Seattle.

Darr said at the outset of the walkout that Teamsters union drivers have agreed not to cross picket lines at sites where the strikers are employed.

Under the old contract most Operating Engineers union members made $22 to $24 an hour, plus benefits.

An offer that was rejected the day before the strike began would have boosted their pay by $3.95 an hour over three years while barring them from honoring strikes by other unions — a key sticking point throughout the negotiations.

The second offer retained the ban on honoring other unions' picket lines and lowered the pay increase to $3.60 an hour over three years, Darr said.