Nearly 15,000 out of work; federal mediators back to help end concrete strike

The ripple effects of the concrete strike keep getting worse. Nearly 15,000 people have been laid off because of stalled projects related to the strike, impacting every construction trade from crane operators to pipe workers.

Major construction projects like repairs to the West Seattle Bridge are delayed, and the cost of home projects in King County has skyrocketed.

Negotiations started again on Thursday, Feb. 24, between Teamsters 174 and the concrete companies (Cadman, Glacier Northwest, Stoneway Concrete and Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel), with federal mediators again at the table. As of 6 p.m., the groups had not reached an agreement.

For concrete drivers, it was another day of picketing outside Cadman in South Seattle.

“We just want respect, just want to be equal and not fall behind all the other trades,” said Anthony Schmidt, a concrete driver. He’s been on strike for 83 days, starting Dec. 3. Others have been on strike since Nov. 19 and have passed the three-month mark. The disagreements are over wages and benefits for drivers.

The lengthy strike has had a massive impact on the region.

Even a small driveway replacement job is complicated when no concrete is flowing from King County.

“It’s made it really stressful,” said Todd Bellert, who owns a small business called 23 Concrete. They mostly do household projects. Bellert said because of the strike, he shut down all operations in January.

“What if I tore this driveway up and I couldn’t get concrete for two months?” he said. He said the shutdown took a big toll.

“Bank account went down, down, down,” Bellert said. Now he says he’s can get concrete from independent truck drivers who own their rigs, but it comes at a premium – Bellert says the cost of concrete has skyrocketed.

“They’ve got to come from Snohomish or Pierce County,” he said. “It’s tripled the price of concrete. That expense is coming to me, and ultimately the homeowner after that. I’m pretty much-eating half of it, and they’re eating half of it,” Bellert said.

The strike has also halted key work on the West Seattle Bridge, jeopardizing the mid-July reopening and getting the attention of both the Seattle Mayor and King County Executive. SDOT says crews are adding post-tensioning cables inside the bridge to strengthen it, and specialized concrete is needed to hold those cables in place to the bridge itself.

Concrete for the bridge can’t come from out of county and must be sourced locally, SDOT said. One reason is that the concrete can’t travel long distances between where it’s coming from and where it’s poured – it starts solidifying in the trucks.

Certain work at multiple Sound Transit projects have also been halted. Sound Transit says its contractors have already laid off hundreds of workers and projects reaching 408 construction terminations because of the strike and project delays.

A group of more than 30 major contractors and developers are calling for an end to the strike, saying the ripple effect of stopped projects means 15,000 people in the region will be laid off by the end of February. The people impacted include crane operators, masonry, pipe layers, and many other trades.

“There is no concrete on the job. So it’s affected thousands of us. There’s thousands of guys out of work now,” said Sean Staudt, a union operator. He said he was laid off in December shortly after the strike started.

Staudt says unemployment pays about a quarter of his regular wages and health benefits are running out.

“Hopefully it ends soon. We just want everyone to be able to get back to work, take care of our families,” Staudt said.

The Teamsters say they feel the same way. Schmidt’s health insurance ended early February.

“We need to come to an agreement,” Schmidt said.

In the most recent statement from the four concrete companies on negotiations, they said the proposed 17.6% wage increase over the three-year agreement “is a higher increase than the construction trades negotiated with the AGC” (Associated General Contractors of America).

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