A handful of Northwest Union Carpenter members picket in front of the new Marysville civic center construction site on Sept. 22. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

A handful of Northwest Union Carpenter members picket in front of the new Marysville civic center construction site on Sept. 22. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Carpenters strike ends with new contract and a $10 raise

Roughly 500 union members were working on projects in Snohomish County. It was among the largest strikes in 18 years.

EVERETT — After a three-week strike, the Northwest Carpenters Union’s fifth tentative agreement with the Associated General Contractors of Washington passed by a few hundred votes Monday, securing a $10.02 increase to wages and benefits over three years.

“You’ve got to be able to have an opportunity for somebody who is going to work their knuckles bare for an employer,” said Paul Galovin, representative for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters. “This community … these buildings and roads and bridges — all of these people are putting their lives on the lines to build these things. But they’re being able to do it at a wage that is respectable.”

By June 1, 2023, union carpenters will be making $53.70 per hour. They currently make about $45 an hour.

About 5,300 union members cast their vote to accept the agreement. Roughly 500 union members are working in Snohomish County on projects including Premera in Mountlake Terrace, Spruce Elementary in Lynnwood, the Marysville civic center and the Foushee project near the airport in Everett.

Bargaining began early this year, and the union’s contract was extended multiple times after it expired in June, Galovin said. After the fourth tentative agreement was rejected, union members hit the picket lines.

The AGC of Washington said in a September statement it was “disappointed and perplexed” with the union’s decision to strike after five months of negotiations.

The strike spanned three weeks, including 13 days of picketing. It was among the largest in 18 years, Galovin said.

In 2003, thousands of union carpenters across Western and Central Washington walked off the job for better health care.

This fall, the strike affected hundreds of job sites as dozens of union members in Snohomish County spent hours on the picket lines in the fight for higher wages.

Bargaining committee members reached a new deal with AGC last Tuesday.

“Our members fought hard for these important improvements in the contract, putting their livelihoods and their bodies on the picket line for 13 days of striking at dozens of job sites across Western Washington,” said Evelyn Shapiro, NWCU executive secretary-treasurer in a statement after voting closed Monday evening.

Ultimately, the agreement passed with 2,853 yes votes and 2,465 no votes.

Galovin said thousands of members feel the agreement fell short.

The new three-year contract includes a 15.43% overall increase to wages and benefits and $1.50 per hour for those within the Bellevue or Seattle parking zones.

This agreement offers a slight bump from the $9.80 increase to wages and benefits that was proposed in the previous agreement, said union rep and bargaining committee member John Lehman.

“It’s a fight,” Galovin said. “The carpenters have a fight and it’s kind of front and center right now, because there was a strike — there was action on the front. The big picture is that this conversation is to increase that middle class opportunity for workers throughout our nation.”

Isabella Breda: 425-339-3192; isabella.breda@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @BredaIsabella.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Dominic Wilson looks at his mother while she addresses the court during his sentencing at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Grief remains after sentencing of Marysville teen’s killers

Dominic Wilson must serve 17½ years in prison, while his accomplice Morzae Roberts was given a sentence of four years.

The Washington State University Everett campus on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
WSU ends search to buy land for future branch campus in Everett

The university had $10M to spend. It tried for four years but couldn’t close deals with Everett’s housing authority or the city.

Former Opus Bank/Cascade Bank building in downtown Everett on Thursday, March 16, 2023 in Everett, Washington. It is proposed as the new home of Economic Alliance Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Economic Alliance asks Everett for $300K to move downtown

The countywide chamber of commerce and economic development organization also would reform the Everett chamber.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Mountlake Terrace in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Mountlake Terrace leaders weighing federal ARPA fund options

Bathrooms, body cameras, generators, radios, roadwork, roof replacement, sidewalks, trails and more loom for the $4.5 million.

Vehicles on Soper Hill Road wait in line to make unprotected left turns onto Highway 9 northbound and southbound during the evening commute Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Lake Stevens development prompts Highway 9 signal change soon

Turning left from Soper Hill Road can be a long wait now. Flashing yellow turn signals could help with more traffic.

The drugs seized from a Clorox box and an air mattress box in the car of a courier in November 2020. (U.S. Attorney's Office)
Relatives of Arlington fentanyl, meth ringleader get federal prison

Jose Arredondo-Valdez, the cousin of Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, got nine years Tuesday. Valdez-Sanudo’s wife got four.

NO CAPTION NECESSARY: Logo for the Cornfield Report by Jerry Cornfield. 20200112
Building ballparks, rewriting ferry rules, recognizing Chinese-Americans

It’s Day 71. Here’s what’s happening in the 2023 session of the Washington Legislature

Logo for news use featuring Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington. 220118
Head-on crash on south Whidbey Island hospitalizes 3 people

Alcohol or drugs were involved, per the Washington State Patrol. Two victims are Lake Forest Park teens.

Marysville
Marysville man dies after motorcycle crash on Ingraham Boulevard

The man, 58, was heading east when he lost control in the single-vehicle crash, according to police.

Most Read