Union efforts produced better contract for concrete pumpers January 23, 2008

Union efforts produced better contract for concrete pumpers

By ALLAN B. DARR

GUEST COLUMNIST

The Seattle P-I badly mischaracterized the dispute between Operating Engineers Local 302 and some nonunion concrete pumping companies ("Concrete pourers on employers' side," Jan. 15). The newspaper gave some frustrated union members an opportunity to complain about what they don't like in a new contract but offered no comment from our members who ratified it. Plus, the P-I treats the nonunion companies responsible for this dispute as innocent bystanders.

As Local 302's elected leader, I'd like to set the record straight.

Until recently, our union had about 150 members employed as concrete pumpers under a master contract. The union tried to negotiate a successor agreement, but the employers -- led by three companies that decided to play hardball -- were intransigent. On Dec. 30, just one day before the contract was to expire, our members voted on those companies' last-minute offer. It was a slap in the face on many fronts, and our members rejected it. So these companies chose to terminate their relationship with Local 302 and became nonunion after Dec. 31.

Their gamble backfired when rival companies decided to negotiate separately. On Jan. 4, our union reached a fair agreement with Conco Concrete Pumping, which was overwhelmingly ratified by our members there. On Jan. 11, All-American Concrete Pumping became the second company to sign this new master contract.

Now the newly nonunion companies have started losing work at all-union construction projects. Rather than sign the new contract, they have rallied their employees to demand a separate contract -- one that grants them more favorable terms, undercutting our members who voted for the new agreement. The nonunion companies shut down work on Jan. 11 and helped their employees stage a protest outside our union hall. (A leaflet described it as a "mandatory meeting" for one company's pumpers.)

Some of our members at those companies are angry because when they rejected their companies' final offer, they didn't think it would come to this. The union urged them to sign up to be dispatched to jobs with unionized companies, but some say they like their old companies, don't want them to lose union work and support certain elements of the old contract.

Rather than blaming their own employers for holding out, they blame their union. The truth is, there's nothing stopping their bosses from signing the new deal and also retaining certain benefits their employees want. Nothing except greed.

Concrete pumpers do hard work, and for as long as I can remember, they have been mistreated and forced to accept far less than they deserve. They worked under a divisive substandard two-tiered contract for several years that was unique to the unionized construction trades, and our members told us loud and clear they wanted a better contract. That's what this union ultimately got.

As long as I serve this union, we will fight for what's best for all of us. In this case, it's a level playing field for all concrete pumping companies to compete based on efficiency and quality of work, not a patchwork of contracts that pit our members against each other.

We will not have nonunion contractors tell us how to run this union; we will not go backwards with divisive two-tiered contracts; and we will not turn our backs on our members.

Allan B. Darr is business manager and general vice president of Operating Engineers Local 302, which represents 10,000 operators; iuoe302.org