September 12, 2022
Local 174 members achieve historic increases after long fight
More than a year after the contract expired, Teamsters Local 174 members working in the King County concrete industry have voted to ratify a strong new agreement. The contract agreement will close out a long period of labor unrest, which included a nearly-five-month Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike and countless one-day ULP walkouts by the Teamster members as the Employers refused to bargain in good faith. The new agreements cover more than 225 concrete workers at Cadman, CalPortland, Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel, and Stoneway Concrete and will last through 2025.
The Agreement addresses most of the main priorities of the membership, including medical coverage for active employees, pension increases, and work rules that will solve workplace issues. The one piece missing from the final Agreement was an improved retirement medical plan that would have helped retired members afford medical insurance until they reached Medicare eligibility. However, as the cost of the protracted fight continued to escalate, the Teamsters again decided to take the high road and back off from that demand. The final Agreement ratified by 77%.
“Yesterday’s ratification is a victory for the Teamsters, one truly earned through blood, sweat, and tears,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “In the end, we got significantly more than they ever wanted to give, and we proved once again that the members of Teamsters Local 174 are militant, strong, and will not be bullied into submission by any Employer – even groups of companies that run King County construction like a cartel.”
“These greedy Companies refused to allow their employees a benefit that would have cost the owners absolutely nothing,” Hicks continued. “Instead, they spent way more on this contract than we would have accepted if they had included the improved retirees medical in their offer. This proves once and for all that this was never about the contract. It was always about busting the Union – and they failed.”
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.