Seattle may have the most cranes in the sky, but on Tuesday many of them won't be in use: The union representing Washington state crane operators and construction engineers has gone on strike after its members rejected a new contract on Monday.þThe International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 302 began their strike at 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning, with members expected to ÿwithhold their labor, and not report to work, for the duration of the strike,ÿ according to the union's website.þLocal 302 doesn't cover all construction workers, or even all members of the IUOE; Skanska crews working locally are excluded. But many Seattle-area surveyors, mechanics, and stationary engineers are members of the union chapter.þAnd with the strike hitting just after Seattle celebrated three years of having more construction cranes in use than any other U.S. city, the stall should be felt pretty immediately.þþAfter all, the skillset of the people striking ranges from operating cranes to pouring the concrete to hoisting materials and laying pavers, and more.þUnion officials said the majority of the membership rejected the contract, though they declined to comment on the details of the sticking points.þCouncilmember Kshama Sawant released a statement of solidarity with the crews, detailing the demands as a 15-percent increase in pay over three years to help keep up with cost of living, double time, and paid parking.þÿEveryday, members of the Operating Engineers are at work before sunrise, risking their lives to make construction possible. It's important that we as working people stand in solidarity with them as they fight for a decent contract,ÿ Sawant said in a statement.þþÿSeattle has been the construction crane capital for three years running. The building boom in the city and region has made untold profits for corporations and wealth for billionaires. And yet the workers who operate those cranes and help create the profits are increasingly unable to afford to live in the very city they are building.ÿ
Source: seattlepi.com
