Teamsters from six Local Unions vote overwhelmingly to strike if a contract is not reached

Construction industry Teamsters from six Western Washington Teamster Locals came together over the weekend to deliver a resounding rebuke to their employers, voting to authorize a strike. The group of several hundred Teamsters are members of Locals 38, 174, 231, 252, 313, and 589, and work for a variety of different companies, all under the umbrella of the AGC Agreement. The contract expired on May 31, 2024.

The AGC Agreement is a mature contract spanning decades. Still, negotiations this time were contentious from the start, as management from the various companies came into bargaining with a long list of takeaways they wanted to achieve. The most fundamental takeaway proposal included one of the most essential contract language provisions enshrined in the AGC Agreement: basic seniority rights as dictated by a worker’s Date of Hire. The Teamsters, by contrast, hoped to achieve more basic goals such as parity with the raises already agreed to by other unionized construction trades, and other fundamental job protections.

“These hardworking Teamsters didn’t come in here asking for the world – they came in asking for a fair deal and their employers are saying ‘no.’ Well, now those employers can see firsthand what our members think about that,” said Teamsters Joint Council 28 President Rick Hicks. “We hope that this nearly-unanimous strike vote sends a clear message to all of these employers: come back to the table ready to reach a fair deal. These workers showed solidarity and strength this weekend, and we expect that spirit to carry on into the future. The ball is now in the employers’ court and we hope they will do the right thing.”