Phoenix, Arizona – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters [IBT] is reporting Local 14 mining vehicle operators have unanimously voted to authorize a strike against Vulcan Materials, demanding the company stop violating federal labor law and bargain in good faith.
As per the Teamsters: America’s largest supplier of construction aggregates and a major producer of asphalt mix and ready-mix concrete, Vulcan operates almost 500 mine quarries, asphalt plants, and ready-mix facilities throughout North America.
The eight Teamster drivers, known as “the Vulcan 8,” operate on-site mining vehicles at the company’s open-pit aggregates quarries in and around Phoenix. They have been working under an expired collective bargaining agreement for more than a year.
Vulcan wants to eliminate a union-sponsored health care plan and replace it with a company plan that would increase workers’ health care costs more than $460 per month. The company is also trying to force drivers to get back behind the wheel after just eight hours between shifts, eliminate workers’ rights to honor picket lines, and award itself unlimited ability to replace workers with subcontractors, temporary employees, and autonomous vehicles.
“The Teamsters are done tolerating insulting contract proposals like this one. Vulcan 8 drivers know what they’re worth, and they demand the wages, benefits, and job protections that they’ve earned,” said Sean M. O’Brien, Teamsters General President. “Vulcan is just the latest example of a corporation peddling extraordinary greed, and our members aren’t going to stand for it, no matter the size of their bargaining unit. We will, however, walk the picket line if that’s what it takes.”
In Arizona, Vulcan supplies many local governments with construction materials, including Maricopa County, Pima County, Pinal County, the City of Phoenix, and the City of Tempe. They also service a range of prestigious private companies, including Lennar Corporation, the largest homebuilder in the U.S.; PulteGroup, the country’s third largest homebuilder; and MDC Holdings, one of the top 15 homebuilders in the U.S.
“We have worked non-stop over the last two years to help Vulcan boost profits and pay for CEO J. Thomas Hill,” said Richard Trudden, a 20-year Vulcan Teamster. “But instead of offering us a fair compensation package, Vulcan is trying to destroy the lives of eight loyal, long-time workers by violating federal labor laws and refusing to bargain in good faith.”
A potential strike or other labor action at Vulcan’s Arizona facilities could affect the in-state operations of its partner companies, including CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. The Teamsters represent roughly 700 Vulcan employees nationwide, including several hundred workers at recently acquired U.S. Concrete.
