Picketers go back to work as contractors sign agreements

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June 28, 1999Picketing by the International Union of Operating Engineers on Friday was limited to a single site as almost all the affected contractors signed interim agreements to keep construction projects underway.Some contractors, such as Bill Dentinger Inc. of Waukesha and Voss Jorgensen Schueler Co. Inc. of Waukesha, had still not signed agreements, but have given commitments to do so today, according to the union. Some Local 139 members spent Friday searching the six-county area covered by the Area 1 builder agreement for sites operated by unsigned contractors, according to Dale A. Miller, business manager for Local 139, and talks were planned with those that had not signed. About 10 of the 603 affected members were involved in the strike Friday with the rest at work, Miller said. Picketers were sent to Wisconsin Lutheran College in Wauwatosa for the third day. The same site was closed down on Wednesday because general contractor Oscar J. Boldt Construction Co. had not signed an interim agreement, but work on two 39,000-square-foot residence halls resumed when the company agreed to the interim contract. Wenninger Co. Inc. of New Berlin, a subcontractor on the job, did not sign until Friday. As of Friday afternoon, more than 50 of 127 companies working in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties had arranged interim agreements, according to the union.Interim agreements allow operating engineers to continue working until the dispute over a master agreement is settled. The interim agreement for the operating engineers calls for an hourly wage increase of $1.50. Many of the companies which have not signed are based outside the area and do not have as much work in Area 1, union officials said. Local 139 will review the situation this morning. Members of the Area 1 builders struck Wednesday over contract language. Currently, contractors can use a member of any trade to operate a forklift for up to three hours. Over that limit, an operating engineer must be assigned to the forklift. The union is seeking to remove the limit in favor of only operating engineers working on the equipment.

NLRB investigates

As the number of picket sites decline, the contract dispute will shift this week to two charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board by the Allied Construction Employers’ Association and the Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee. The charges claim that Local 139 has violated two provisions of the National Labor Relations Act in its efforts to secure the forklift language. A meeting is scheduled at the board’s Milwaukee office for Tuesday, Miller said.