Strike slows work on U.S. 12

The heavy machine operators’ union strike has forced stop to work west of Montesano and slowed work East of Montesano.

By Michael Lang • August 28, 2018 3:20 pm
Six men, who did not wish to speak with reporters, set a picket line Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, at the state Department of Transportation U.S. Highway 12 worksite west of Montesano. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette.
Six men, who did not wish to speak with reporters, set a picket line Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, at the state Department of Transportation U.S. Highway 12 worksite west of Montesano. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette.

Work along U.S. Highway 12 at two worksites — west of Montesano and near McCleary — has been interrupted by a heavy construction equipment operators union strike.

The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 stopped work in Western Washington after its members voted against contract offers.

At the site outside Montesano, work has stopped completely. Farther east, near McCleary, some work is able to progress, but the heavy equipment work has stopped, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Thursday morning, Aug. 23, six men were at the Montesano site holding picket signs. They did not comment on the stoppage. The rest of the work zone was quite.

The WSDOT is replacing a fish culvert under U.S. 12 that is restricting fish passage with a “220-foot-long concrete box structure that will open (almost) 2 miles of potential fish habitat,” according to a WSDOT release.

“Local 302 is currently involved in a labor dispute relating to our wages, hours, and working conditions,” a release from Daren Konopaski, the union’s international vice president and business manager, states.

Claudia Bingham Baker, Olympic region communications manager for the WSDOT says worksites across the state are affected.

“The crane (at the site outside Montesano) that was used to move pieces of the culvert around demobilized from the site,” she said. The operator moved the crane to honor the strike.

“DOT is just one of many employers affected by this work stoppage,” she said. “We will monitor the situation and see what happens.

There was no word on when work at the site or others across the state would resume.

By building a fish passage for an unnamed tributary of the Wynoochee River under U.S. Highway 12 west of Montesano, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says about 2 miles of fish habitat will be opened up for coho, coastal cutthroat trout and other fish. But a strike by the union of crane operators brought work to a halt Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette.

By building a fish passage for an unnamed tributary of the Wynoochee River under U.S. Highway 12 west of Montesano, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says about 2 miles of fish habitat will be opened up for coho, coastal cutthroat trout and other fish. But a strike by the union of crane operators brought work to a halt Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette.

By building a fish passage for an unnamed tributary of the Wynoochee River under U.S. Highway 12 west of Montesano, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says about 2 miles of fish habitat will be opened up for coho, coastal cutthroat trout and other fish. But a strike by the union of crane operators brought work to a halt Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette.

By building a fish passage for an unnamed tributary of the Wynoochee River under U.S. Highway 12 west of Montesano, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says about 2 miles of fish habitat will be opened up for coho, coastal cutthroat trout and other fish. But a strike by the union of crane operators brought work to a halt Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. Photo by Michael Lang, The Vidette.