“It was close again — only 388 votes in between,” McPike said. “Even though we lost, we certainly made progress. There will be a lot of hard work ahead of us, but just because we didn`t end up getting what we deserve doesn`t mean we should stop working as union carpenters for our future. “When she came under fire, about 80 carpenters signed a letter of solidarity with her; The union published its own petition with 1,500 signatures from members, in which it was branded an intruder. He said he was also concerned that carpenters would pull out of the local market — although “I don`t really like that terminology because we don`t know what that number is, and no one on either side does,” he said. For parking, the new agreement reimburses carpenters in parts of Seattle for $1.50 per hour. A new parking benefit in an affluent Seattle suburb, Bellevue, scheduled for 2023 in the previous preliminary agreement, will now begin in 2022. The bargaining team negotiated a retroactive payment going back to June 1 for each carpenter who has worked 40 hours per week in the past 19 weeks. The group, named after the socialist co-founder of the Carpenters, also lobbied for reimbursement of high parking costs; Carpenters who work in downtown Seattle pay hundreds of dollars a week out of their own pockets. The group`s platform also called for stronger protection against sexual harassment. Angry that they are fighting despite a construction boom that represents dizzying wealth — Seattle is one of the most expensive regions in the country and many construction workers have had to move to distant suburbs — some carpenters have argued that the union should hold out more.
The members I spoke to who voted “no” to the last agreement were frustrated by the evolution of the strike. If there`s one thing that`s clear about the first Northwest Carpenters strike since 2007, it`s that nothing was clear from the moment it started. This includes the number of strikers, as many construction sites have been excluded under project employment contracts and other similar agreements. Union estimates ranged from thousands to hundreds or thousands. Seattle carpenters have approved a regional framework agreement after more than three weeks of strike action. Photo: NW Carpenters This length puts the Carpenters back on the same negotiating schedule as other trades in the region. A four-year contract would have separated them – a major source of frustration for members in previous agreements. The ratified agreement provides for a set of salaries and benefits totalling $10.02 over three years, an increase of 15.4%. The last deal rejected was a total package of $13.25 over four years. Our bargaining team regularly works with contractors for clear and fair wages and benefits, giving you the opportunity to vote on any agreement. Your participation is crucial to approving your salaries and benefits.
Find the contract that covers your region and your trade. PNWRCC works for you for the best salaries and benefits. Your contribution to the leadership of the PNWRCC and, most importantly, your vote is essential to approval. Current contracts can be found here and will receive specific information from your local and PNWRCC on when to vote on new contracts. The union eventually hit dozens of construction sites. But the no-strike agreements prevented many of the 6,600 carpenters covered by Washington`s framework agreement from leaving work, including Sound Transit`s rail lines, Seattle public schools and the Climate Pledge Arena. These workers were taken up two hours of wages a day, which were paid into a strike fund. The first tentative agreement, reached in June, would have provided $8.64 over three years. It was rejected by 76 percent. The hourly wage of a travel carpenter is $46.92 plus benefits. “I believe that after the way the strike was conducted and after seeing how many carpenters could not strike, many members lost hope,” said carpenter Cody McPike. Before the vote on a controversial fifth provisional agreement, the mood of Washington carpenters who had arranged for a negative vote was uncertain.
“We wouldn`t earn much more if we continued to strike, and that would hurt many carpenters and other professions who don`t work. I decided on $1.38 or whatever exactly, the difference between the first and fifth tentative agreement was as good as it would be this time,” he said. Francisco admitted that there had been sexist messages, but he told Jacobin that other members of the group had been quick to condemn her and educate the posters about why they were wrong. “It`s not that this problem is something that`s just on the Peter McGuire group page or just on Facebook,” he said. And “the companion I work with said he voted `yes` because he was tired of losing a hundred dollars a day because of the evaluation of the strike.” Update, October 20: Additional information has been added to this article since its original release. PLEASE REFER TO THE “APPENDIX A” PAGE FOR THE EXACT RATES OF PAY AND BENEFITS FOR ALL OF OUR FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS. To support the strike by other Building Trades Council unions in Seattle, carpenters agreed on restrictions, including these: “Itinerant or alternating pickets at multiple locations during the day will not be carried out,” according to a leaked email. Pickets are not concentrated in one place for a long period of time or on consecutive days throughout the work week. The base of the splinter group argued that union leaders had spent too much time stumbling for a “yes” vote and too little effort for those who were willing to strike. If we had let that happen, we would have lost much of the little influence we had at the negotiating table,” Art Francisco, president of the Peter J. McGuire Group, wrote on the group`s Facebook page. And Martin Luther King Day is now celebrated as an unpaid holiday.
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