Group of concrete drivers rebuff attack on medical coverage by vote of 212-1
There was almost no concrete poured in King County today, as the entire Teamster workforces of Stoneway Concrete, Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel, Cadman, CalPortland, and Lehigh Cement instead attended a vote at the Teamsters Local 174 Union Hall where they voted to completely and utterly reject the “Last, Best, and Final” offer proposed by their employers. The Company offer not only underperformed the wage increases in other recent construction industry Union contracts, but even more insultingly, fell short of full medical coverage for the group of 300 workers who have been working nonstop throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The final Company proposal we voted to reject today is a testament to how little care and respect these company owners and managers have for us, the frontline workers who earn their profits through our blood, sweat, and tears,” said Cadman driver and Bargaining Committee member Todd Parker. “They should be falling to their knees thanking us for risking our health every day to make them record profits. Instead, they’re coming after our medical coverage during a pandemic. I don’t know how they sleep at night.”
At the bargaining table, company owners and management have consistently insisted that their offers have been fair and competitive, despite the fact that they fall meaningfully short of other Union contracts ratified by AGC Teamsters and the Operators Union. Their explanation for refusing to allow enhanced medical coverage for Retirees was even more reprehensible: they fully admit that they can afford the coverage, but refuse to provide it because they do not feel their workers deserve a comfortable retirement.
“I don’t know why they thought we would vote to accept this inferior contract, but today we killed that fantasy for them,” said CalPortland driver and Bargaining Committee member Mark Hislop. “If they want a contract with this group, they’re going to have to bring something to the table that actually shows us the respect we’ve earned through our hard work. Anything less than that is going to get the same treatment as the offer we just voted to throw in the trash.”
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.