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Members of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 290 picketed the offices of in McMinnville on Thursday and Friday.

Since January, the union has been in negotiations for a new labor agreement with the Oregon chapter of the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association, which represents plumbing and mechanical contractors that use union labor. When the preceding contract expired on March 31 without a new deal in place, local union members voted 900-90 to approve an order to strike.

Local 290’s business manager, John Endicott, declined to comment on the strike, but he did say that members are dealing with a tough negotiation process.

PMCA Oregon Executive Director Frank Wall, meanwhile, was more candid.

鈥淚t looks like they’ve created and initiated a strategy of selective and targeted strikes,鈥� Wall said. Gormley Plumbing + Mechanical is a family business run by Ed Gormley, who was mayor of McMinnville for 25 years.

According to Wall, the union approached PMCA Oregon with nearly 50 proposed changes to work rules that Local 290 members want included in a new contract. PMCA Oregon, however, believes about half of the proposed changes would hurt the contractors, he said.

鈥淟anguage has a cost associated with it,鈥� Wall said. 鈥淪o anytime you add rules it’s going to cost money and make these contractors less competitive in a market that is already controlled by nonunion firms.鈥�

Nonunion plumbing contractors’ local market share is 60 percent, Wall said.

Union members voted 945-45 to reject the association’s offer for a three-year contract with a $1 raise in each of the first two years and a $1.25 raise in the final year. The offer also included new language concerning random drug and alcohol testing, lengths of breaks and travel rates.

Local 290 members countered with a two-year agreement with a $3.75 raise in the first year, and a $4.25 raise in the second. Presently, the cost to employ a Local 290 member is $55.98 per hour.

Over the previous 15 years the annual average wage increase has been $1.63.

The two sides have come a long way since initial discussions. When the two sides came to the table on March 3, the local union was asking for a $7 an hour increase for 2011, while the association pitched no wage increases in 2011, a 25-cent increase in 2012 and a 50-cent increase in 2013.

Meanwhile, the strikes are impacting business, Gormley said.

鈥淢y Local 290 employees were called personally or had messages left on their home phones by business representative John Kimberling and told to not report to work for the next two days as the union was going to picket our offices,鈥� he said. 鈥淗aving personnel not report to work is certainly an interruption.鈥�

And even though there were only about seven picketers the first day, Gormley said it was affecting his retail business as well.

鈥淭hey were orderly and polite,鈥� he said. 鈥�(But) we operate a retail store also, and with any picketing, people are intimidated and fearful of driving onto a property.鈥�

While the union picketers are targeting some sites, they are staying away from others. In a letter to members, Robin Edgar, labor relations manager for the Oregon-Columbia chapter of the Associated General Contractors, said that even though all of its members were instructed by union officials to refuse any overtime, and that some members were asked to begin work stoppages, the Intel project in Hillsboro will continue to be manned. Intel is building a new multibillion-dollar fabrication plant at its Ronler Acres campus.

Edgar added that contractors should remind their union workers not associated with Local 290 that they can be replaced permanently if they decide to either not work or participate in a sympathy strike.

But in the meantime, Wall said he has been meeting with Endicott regularly and is hopeful that the two sides can come to an agreement.

鈥淭he strikes are a nuisance and they are hurting business,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he more we sit here and argue, the less chance we have to recapture market shares.鈥�