Construction strike starting to have an impact on these big Bellingham projects
As the construction strike involving Western Washington crane operators enters its second week, it’s starting to have an impact on Whatcom County projects.
On Aug. 21 Western Washington members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 went on strike, putting a halt to several construction projects, particularly the ones involving cranes in the Seattle area. The union is in negotiations with the Associated General Contractors of Washington.
On its website, the contractor’s association said it was disappointed Local 302 rejected a second agreement offer of a 15 percent increase over three years. In its Tuesday update to workers, Local 302 said the two sides met and exchanged positions, but that there was no change in positions. According to its website, Local 302 has said it doesn’t plan to speak to the media during the dispute. A message left for the contractor’s association was not returned.
The strike also impacts other workers tied to the contract negotiation, including some asphalt pavers and those involved in pumping concrete. That’s put several city construction projects in Bellingham on hold, said Amy Cloud, a spokeswoman for the city.
Two key projects being delayed are the Donovan Avenue water main replacement project and the road work being done in the waterfront district, formerly home to Georgia-Pacific. Cloud said the plan was to have the water main replacement work done before the school year started, but that won’t happen.
“On this (Donovan) project, and any others affected, we will make every accommodation to help essential traffic get through,” Cloud said in an email.
On the waterfront, Cloud said they are unable to lower a new stormwater vault into place while the cranes are unavailable. In the meantime, they plan to continue other work that can be done, including nearby sidewalk improvements.
No state road construction projects in Whatcom County are currently being impacted by the strike, said Andrea Petrich, spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Transportation. That’s also the case for Western Washington University, said Paul Cocke, spokesman for the university. Western is busy with several projects on campus, including its new Multicultural Center that is expected to be completed in June 2019.
At Whatcom Community College, several construction projects are being impacted. The 65,328-square-foot Phyllis and Charles Self Learning Commons is stalled while awaiting crane operators, while pavement and sidewalk repair work is on hold, said Marisa Ellis, spokeswoman at WCC.
This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 11:14 AM.