Steve Leigh reports from Seattle on a solidarity rally organized by rank-and-file building trades workers who are fighting to win their fair share.
Steve Leigh
June 6, 2018
SEATTLE IS in a building boom, but most building trades workers can’t afford to live in the city.
That was the message that 150 members and allies of CORE 46, the Caucus of Rank-and-File Electrical Workers in International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 46, delivered at a rally on May 31.
The level of construction activity in Seattle is three times what it was in 2011. Contractors and developers are making money hand over fist. CORE 46 has been fighting for decent union contracts and against an unresponsive union leadership since a poor contract was settlement three years ago. In one section of IBEW Local 46, union leaders imposed an inferior contract after members had voted it down several times. Another section of the local is organizing to make sure the same doesn’t happen to them.
In order to step up the fight, CORE 46 organized a “Cross Trades Rally” of all the construction trades in downtown Seattle. The theme was solidarity between all the trades, and with workers in general.
One sheet metal worker explained, “Even with the building boom, the contractors in Seattle are demanding a wage freeze in our next contract. Outside the city, they’re demanding a 30 percent wage cut.”
Others noted that even workers in trades that are being offered a raise won’t get enough to keep up with the rising cost of living.
