Sand And Gravel Membership Ratifies Contract
One of our bigger challenges this year has been the Sand & Gravel negotiations. We opened bargaining with a very modest proposal, knowing the economy had hit the construction industry incredibly hard and work was slow. Many of the Sand & Gravel members have been laid off, and many of those working have experienced a significant decrease in hours. The four companies involved took the opposite approach—their proposal was not modest. The opening offer completely gutted thirty years of gains in the contract. We spent the next several months fighting off the takeaways and trying to make sure we had enough money on the table to cover the estimated costs of health care.

At the end of July, the employers presented us with a last best and final offer. In our view, it was premature and their actions were an unfair labor practice. We took a strike vote, and the members gave us the 100% strike authorization we needed. We tried to get the companies to back off their last best and final, and they refused. So, in typical 174 fashion, we put the picket sticks in the air.

The initial unfair labor practice strike was against Cadman and lasted all of 40 minutes. They (all four companies) agreed to convert the “last best and final” into a counter proposal and return to the bargaining table. The strike could have been shorter, but we insisted on getting it in writing before we would stand down.

We returned to the bargaining table and made some progress, but we didn’t get enough movement from them to get to an agreement. They once again gave us a premature “last best and final”. We filed unfair labor practice charges and on Thursday, September 16, and once again went out on an unfair labor practice strike. This time we struck the two multi-nationals, Glacier and Cadman. We contacted Stoneway and Salmon Bay and told them they were next. The owners of the two local companies came to the hall and reached a settlement on behalf of all of the employers. This strike lasted about eight hours from start to finish.

We scheduled a ratification vote for Monday night (September 20).  The members ratified the tentative agreement by an 87% margin.  Once again, the courage and solidarity of our members won the day.  THANK YOU to the members in the Sand and Gravel industry, to the bargaining team, and to the staff of 174 who, as always, were all hands on deck at multiple locations to ensure the picket lines were operating smoothly.

Sand and Gravel Negotiations Update

June 29, 2010:

Sand & Gravel Negotiations have been on-going since May 27, 2010.  Following a demands meeting with the members, it was assumed we would be facing an uphill battle with the four (4) signatory Company's “Cadman, Glacier-Cal/Portland, Salmon Bay & Stoneway Sand & Gravel” given the current economic conditions.  We had no idea it would be as difficult a task as we have faced thus far.

We met with the Company's representatives on June 9, 2010 to pass our opening proposals.  We had anticipated a relatively friendly start to the negotiations, but unfortunately, the response to our proposal was the worst we had ever encountered. 
It was a total disgrace and solicited an immediate response from the bargaining unit members. 

The bargaining members had not expected the amount of disrespect and negativity coming from the employers.    

Nonetheless, we will continue through this very difficult negotiation process with the hope that the respective employers will come to the table with an acceptable proposal and an idea of how badly they offended their drivers.

I will continue to keep everyone informed as we move through this process.         

Sand and Gravel Negotiations Begin

June 11, 2010: Bargaining began this week. Our committee met on Tuesday, June 8 to finalize our opening offer. We reviewed our notes from the demands meeting as well as the surveys that have come in since and prepared the document to give to management the next day. We met face-to-face with the Employers on Wednesday, June 9.

Both sides presented opening offers. Unfortunately, the Employers’ opening offer almost completely gutted our contract, by eliminating premium pay, including longstanding premiums as well as the double-time we achieved last contract. Their proposal also eliminated all daily hours guarantees and minimums.

Today, Friday, the committee met and discussed how to deal with the opening proposal. We will respond at our next scheduled meeting on June 23.

We are off to a rocky start, but it’s not over yet! Stay tuned for future updates.

Sand and Gravel Bargaining Committee: Mike Jablonski (Salmon Bay); Robert DoBosh and Mark Bergman (Stoneway); Mark Hislop and Klinger (Glacier); Marty Horn and Dave McDowell (Cadman); Rick Hicks, Secretary-Treasurer; Patty Warren, Senior Business Agent; and Larry Boyd, Senior Business Agent.