Rock crusher operators, mechanics and support crew workers at Pacific Rock Products LLC, doing business as Cemex, voted 27-14 to join Operating Engineers Local 701. Workers in the new bargaining unit are heavy equipment operators, mechanics, weighmasters, and customer service reps at sand and gravel quarries in Boardman and Canby, Oregon, and at four locations in Clark County, Washington.
Voting was held May 26 on site at English Pit Sand and Gravel and Fisher Quarry in Vancouver, Lewisville Sand and Gravel in Battle Ground, and at Canby Sand and Gravel. Workers at Orchards Sand and Gravel in Vancouver are also part of the bargaining unit. The vote in Boardman was by mail ballot. Ballots were counted June 16.
Cemex is a global building materials company that operates in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Its U.S. network includes 13 cement plants, 46 distribution terminals, 74 aggregate quarries, and more than 350 ready-mix concrete plants.
Operating Engineers Local 701 has sister locals that represent workers at Cemex quarries in Seattle and California.
The Oregon and Southwest Washington quarries were once owned by Pacific Rock Products (Pac Rock). About 10 years ago, Local 701 attempted to organize the crew there, but after several workers were fired, the union campaign fizzled. The company was later sold to Cemex. Many of the same workers were involved in the most recent union campaign, according to Nate Stokes, field staff coordinator at Local 701.
Stokes said management issues, wages, and fringe benefits are key issues among the new group of union workers.
“The guys are tired of being treated like third class citizens,” he said.
Cemex rock crusher operators in Oregon and Southwest Washington currently make about $18 to $20 an hour, they pay for their own health insurance premiums, and they are offered a 401(k) retirement savings plan, Stokes said.
The prevailing union wage for this area doing similar work is around $30 to $32 an hour, plus paid fringe benefits.
As far as union organizing campaigns go, this was a quick one. Local 701 received the first call expressing interest in April. Cards were quickly signed and the election— conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—was completed by mid-June.
But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some problems.
Nicole Rappaport, general counsel at Local 701, said the union has filed two unfair labor practice complaints with the NLRB alleging changes in terms and conditions of employment. The company traditionally gives raises in June. This year, according to Rappaport, the group of workers seeking to join the union didn’t get a raise, while workers who were excluded from the bargaining unit (truck drivers, concrete batch operators, clerical, and others) all did.
In another instance, Rappaport said a mechanic foreman who was a designated observer for the union during the on-site elections saw his job change. The mechanic typically is free to travel to all of the Cemex locations to perform his job. But after the union election he was told he needed clearance from supervisors before going to certain facilities.
Stokes said no dates have been set for bargaining. Operating Engineers Local 302 has negotiations opening up as Operating Engineers Local 701 begins negotiations on its first contract.
