Why Grand Rapids Gravel's unionized workers are striking for the first time in 55 years

union 1.JPGFor the last two weeks, Craig Salzwedel and Mike Wilcox have been among Teamsters Local 406 picketing in front of the Grand Rapids Gravel Co.

WYOMING, MI – Members of Teamster Local 406 are going on strike for the first time in their lives.

The last time the Grand Rapids union was on the picket line was in 1957, says shop steward Craig Salzwedel.

But the 58 members of the union now say they have no choice after the owner of Grand Rapids Gravel refused to budge on $6-an-hour cuts across the board that will scale back workers' health care benefits, vacation time and overtime pay.

The striking workers drive heavy equipment trucks that haul cement to cranes and loaders used in the mining of aggregate.

The union’s last contract expired in September, and both sides have met 15 times since then to try to reach a deal, Salzwedel said.

The unionized workforce, which last received a raise of 50 cents in 2004, has offered to take $3.26-an-hour cut in concessions in exchange for maintaining its current health care package that doesn’t have high out-of-pocket costs.

Grand Rapids Gravel wants to scale overtime back to anything over 40 hours a week instead of 8 hours a day. Workers would lose 50-75 percent of their paid vacation time.

The new contract proposes to eliminate three weeks of vacation for anyone hired prior 1986, and two weeks for anyone hired after that year. Workers would have a maximum of two weeks vacation time per year.

“When you look at the whole package, it just guts the contract,” said Salzwedel, who has worked for the company for 24 years. “It makes me think what they are really trying to do is break the union.”

The Wyoming-based gravel company declined to comment on the strike.

Salzwedel say he doesn’t understand the company’s drastic demands for cuts considering the business didn’t seem to falter during the Great Recession like other companies did.

union2.JPGTeamster Local 406's picket line in front of the Grand Rapids Gravel company drew mostly honks of support.

“We are always busy,” said Salzwedel. “We are leaders in the industry.”

For the last two weeks, members of the union have picketed in front of the company’s office at 2700 28th Street. Their signs have been greeted overwhelmingly with honks of support.

“We are thrilled with the support,” said Salzwedel. “It shows people are tired of getting shoved to the bottom. Now, there’s just an upper class and no class.”

Salzwedel said the union is also picketing in front of owner Andy C. Dykema's other businesses, Dykema Excavating at 1730 Three Mile Road NE, and and Coit Avenue Gravel Co., at 4772 Coit Ave. NE.

On Saturday, the union held a rally at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Belmont at 5750 Brewer Ave. NE, which is another property owned by Dykema.

Striker Mike Wilcox, 56, said there is a lot riding on the contract, especially for the dozen older workers in the union who are a year or two from retirement because they would lose their retiree health insurance.

"It could make it so I would not be able to retire until I was 65 years old because I couldn't get my pension until then," Wilcox said.

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