Striking concrete mixer drivers offer to return to work Monday

SEATTLE — After five months of striking, concrete mixer drivers and support staff have offered to return to work starting on Monday without signing a new contract.

Teamsters Local 174 said in a news release Friday that their workers are now offering an “unconditional” return to work while contract negotiations continue.

“For months, the concrete companies have used their control over Seattle’s concrete industry to drag out negotiations, and it has been devastating for our community and for our sisters and brothers in the building trades,” said Rick Hicks, Teamsters Local 174′s secretary-treasurer. “Our members love our community and are returning to work for the people of Seattle. We hope this very gracious offer means that the greedy concrete companies start negotiating in good faith and stop stonewalling negotiations, as they have for months.”

The union represents more than 300 concrete mixer drivers and support staff.

Last month, the Teamsters decided to allow some of their workers to return to several job sites to resume work on critical projects including the major repairs being done on the West Seattle Bridge.

The drivers will report for duty at five concrete companies, which have been virtually shut down since December.

Seattle-area concrete companies Glacier Northwest, Stoneway Concrete, Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel and Cadman, Inc. said in a statement Friday: “We received the news today, and we look forward to welcoming the drivers back so that we can begin filling the backlog created by the strike. Each of the companies will now focus on rapidly ramping up operations to facilitate the workers’ return; it will take us time to get back to pre-strike levels … As we have promised previously, we remain [committed] to bargaining in good faith and we look forward to continuing to negotiate with Teamsters on a new contract.”

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