2 days ago
Strike idles Eastern WA, Tri-Cities construction sites as workers seek ‘fair wages'
Road projects and other construction work is halted across the Tri-Cities and beyond after the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 went on strike Tuesday.
'Local 302 Eastern Washington is on strike. Hope negotiations can progress so guys can get back to work for fair wages,' a member posted to the union's social media accounts Tuesday.
IUOE Local 302 represents heavy equipment operators who run excavators, cranes, bulldozers and other construction gear. Workers who were not authorized to speak told the Tri-City Herald that the strike was also affecting Spokane.
In the Tri-Cities, work had visibly stopped on other prominent projects.
That included on Highway 240, where the state of Washington is widening a stretch of the Hanford highway to accommodate increasing traffic, particularly Hanford site commuters, and the Columbia Center Boulevard project, where the city of Kennewick is upgrading streets around the mall.
Details were thin, but workers picketed some job sites in Tri-Cities on Tuesday and Wednesday.
At the Horn Rapids Landfill in Richland, Apollo Inc. workers waved 'On Strike' signs to residents making dump runs. A gas collection and control system is currently under construction at the north Richland site..
The city of Richland announce Tuesday evening that work had halted on two roundabouts on Dallas Road at Badger South, near the Country Mercantile store, because of the labor dispute.
Kennewick-based Goodman & Mehlenbacher Inc. or GAME Inc. is the contractor for the work to build roundabouts at Ava Way and Trowbridge.
Some work is proceeding, but heavy equipment operators are not on site. Both intersections are open to regular traffic after the city previously announced road closures to accommodate road construction..
The Dallas Road work privately funded by the developer of Badger South. Even if construction is delayed, both intersections are operational, an official told the Herald.
KHQ Local News reports the Washington state Department of Transportation confirmed work on its North Spokane Corridor project was halted due to the IUOE Local 302 strike.
Union leadership could not be immediately reached. It has not publicly posted about the dispute.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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