Union carpenters picket at Marysville and Everett projects

MARYSVILLE – Thousands of union carpenters across the region are on their third week of strike after rejecting a proposal from the Associated General Contractors of Washington.

“Right now, inflation is what it is – the cost of housing, childcare … parking has gotten extremely, extremely expensive,” said John Lehman, a member of the Northwest Carpenters Union Negotiating Committee and a member of North Puget Sound Carpenters Local 70 das comes straight from our members’ pockets every day. And we really want a fair contract that takes the rising costs of these things into account. ”

Dozens of Northwest Carpenters Union members demonstrated outside the Marysville Civic Center construction site on Wednesday. They represented those who worked on the project as well as projects in the Skagit and Whatcom districts, Lehman said.

Gloria Hirashima, chief executive of the city of Marysville, said the city had no comment on the strike. About 100 union members work at the site, said Jeanie-Marie Price, communications director for Northwest Carpenters Union.

The city’s nearly $ 50 million civic center is slated to open early next year.

Since the strike began on September 16, union members have picketed construction sites in the greater Seattle area, including an Amazon project in Everett, according to a press release from the carpenter’s union.

The picket closed on Friday after the union received reports of “clashes, threats of violence, illegal picket activity, harassment of union members walking on sanctioned picket lines and threats of legal action from multiple employers for wildcat strikes”.

But the strike continues and the picket line can resume on Monday.

A representation of the proposed Marysville Civic Center. (City of Marysville)

More than 5,000 union members took part in the vote that rejected the AGC’s proposal and approved a strike. Approximately 44% voted in favor of accepting the AGC’s offer, but the majority – 56% – voted no.

The proposal included a 20% increase over four years, the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a public holiday, and an increase in sickness and pension contributions.

“Washington AGC is disappointed and at a loss that the union is continuing this strike after such a robust and competitive package deal,” the AGC said in a September 16 statement.

Union members were interviewed during the negotiation process to best serve their needs, Price said.

Lehman said workers would have to travel longer distances because of the increased cost of living.

“You may have to commute back and forth for a couple of hours each day and then add the extra parking costs. And so it just becomes extremely expensive and it pushes our members further and further out of the communities in which they work and try to build them. ”

This is the fourth proposal that has been rejected by Members since negotiations began.

Union members will continue to strike until the union reaches a “fair deal” with the AGC, Price said.

“I think it’s really important that the general public understands that this work is extremely hard on the body,” said Lehman. “You do this for 20 to 25 years – someone could really be physically beaten. And we want our members to be able to retire with dignity and have a pension there. We want our members to have access to great health care. That is why it is so important to us to negotiate good contracts for our membership. ”

Isabella Breda: 425-339-3192; [email protected]. Twitter: @BredaIsabella.

gallery

Members of Northwest Union Carpenter demonstrate outside the new construction site of the Marysville Civic Center on the sixth day of a regional union carpenter strike.  (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

A representation of the proposed Marysville Civic Center.  (City of Marysville)

Members of Northwest Union Carpenter demonstrate outside the new construction site of the Marysville Civic Center on the sixth day of a regional union carpenter strike. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

A representation of the proposed Marysville Civic Center. (City of Marysville)