Teamsters Make Gains by Ratifying New Concrete Agreement

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Sep 12, 2022, 17:50 ET

Local 174 Concrete Members Win Historic Increases After Long Fight

TUKWILA, Wash., Sept. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- More than a year after their contract expired, Teamsters Local 174 members in the King County concrete industry have voted to ratify a strong new agreement.

The contract closes out a long period of labor unrest, including a nearly five-month unfair labor practice (ULP) strike and countless one-day ULP walkouts by Teamsters as employers refused to bargain in good faith. The new agreement protects more than 225 concrete workers at Cadman, CalPortland, Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel, and Stoneway Concrete through 2025.

Most of the membership's top priorities are resolved, including medical coverage for active employees, pension increases, and new rules to solve workplace issues. More than three quarters of voting concrete workers ratified the deal.

"Yesterday's ratification is a victory for the Teamsters, one truly earned through blood, sweat, and tears," said Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. "In the end, we got significantly more than these companies 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."

The one piece missing from the agreement was an adjusted medical plan for retired members who have not yet reached Medicare eligibility. But as the cost of the protracted fight escalated, Local 174 took the high road and backed off the demand to secure a contract honoring and protecting as many members as possible.

"These greedy companies refused to give their employees a benefit that would have cost the owners absolutely nothing," Hicks said. "Instead, they spent more on this contract than we would have accepted if they had included improved retiree medical in the offer. This proves once and for all this was never about the contract. It was 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 Facebook.com/TeamstersLocal174.

Contact:
Jamie Fleming, (425) 281-0166
[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 174