As membership in the Teamsters Local 174 Construction Division grows, so too does our staff with the addition of Marge Newgent as a Business Agent. Marge comes to us from the Operating Engineers Local 302, where her specific expertise has been in dealing with Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and Community Workforce Agreements (CWAs), which are a major part of the construction industry in Washington. Her impressive background and experience will be a great benefit to the members of Local 174.

Marge comes from a strong Union family. She became involved in unionized construction jobs at an early age, starting an apprenticeship with the Ironworkers in 1986. After an injury, she landed at the Operators Local 302 in 1990, where she worked heavy highway and infrastructure – she ran a forklift, oiled, ran squirt booms and friction truck cranes, and earned a class A CDL. Her next Union job was at Boeing as a crane operator and member of IAM Local 751, before finding her way back to the Operators in 2001. She became a Shop Steward in 2004, and a Business Agent in 2007.

In addition to her work experience, Marge also served as a Seattle Building Trades delegate, MLK Labor Council delegate, and served on the bargaining team for the Operators’ Master Labor Agreement in 2015 and 2018. She was also on the Advisory board for the SVI/PACT pre-apprenticeship program, and was a member of the City of Seattle Priority Hire Advisory Committee.

“We are thrilled to be able to add someone as talented and experienced as Marge Newgent to the Teamster family, and we know our members will be extremely well-served by her,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “Marge has experienced just about every part of the job, from running equipment on a construction site to fighting with company management and politicians about the terms of the PLAs and CWAs our members work under. We know she is going to hit the ground running and we look forward to seeing her in action fighting for our members in construction.”

Founded in 1909, Teamsters Local 174 represents 8,600 working men and women in Seattle and the surrounding areas. “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamstersLocal174.