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A strike by Western Washington members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 is in its second week due to an ongoing dispute with the Associated General Contractors of Washington.

Union members walked off of Washington job sites Aug. 21 after negotiations with the AGC chapter broke down. Local 302 members voted down two contract offers after their previous contract expired in June.

Both sides remain tight-lipped, but Local 302 General Vice President and Business Manager Daren Konopaski posted on the union’s website Tuesday declaring that representatives are 鈥渁vailable day or night鈥� to resume talks.

鈥淲e met today with the Employers for the second time since the strike began,鈥� the statement reads. 鈥淯nfortunately there was no change from the Employer’s position yesterday. This is a serious situation and we are committed to coming to a resolution that will be approved by the membership.鈥�

The most recent contract offer rejected by union members would have given workers a 15.9 percent pay raise and a 13 percent increase in benefits such as health care and pension pay.

Local 302 represents crane operators, concrete pump workers, material handlers and surveyors, among others. And with crane operators, in particular, on strike, construction projects in Western Washington have virtually halted. Seattle currently has more cranes deployed 鈥� 65 鈥� than any city in the United States. In Bellevue, 14 more dot the skyline. But with no one to run those cranes, project sites large and small continue to sit idle.

On Aug. 24, Konopaski issued a statement praising the solidarity of the striking workers. Those who actively engage in picketing are eligible to receive strike pay up to $400 per week. Local 302 will not engage in a war of words with AGC in the media, he added.

鈥淚 know many may be frustrated that the Local has not engaged the media or the public in our dispute,鈥� Konopaski said. 鈥淎s I’ve reported before, this dispute is between our members and contractors signatory to our Western Washington Master Labor Agreement.聽The Local will not distract from the negotiation process by litigating its positions in the media.鈥�

Requests for comment from the AGC of Washington were not immediately returned. Roughly one-third of AGC chapters negotiate area-wide collective bargaining agreements on behalf of their members.

Some Local 302 members work under separate collective bargaining agreements and are not involved in the strike. They include those working for Skanska, companies bound by the West Coast Drill Shaft Agreement or the Refinery Building Trades Agreement and those working on private jobs for Ralph’s Concrete Pumping, Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping and Conco.

UPDATE: Local 302 released another statement late Wednesday in which it hinted an agreement may soon be reached – without the AGC Washington.

“Local has been approached by numerous independent contractors that are interested in signing one independent agreement with significant economic increases for our membership,” said the statement, which was posted on the Local 302 website. “The Local is currently meeting with contractors and their employees and may have agreements in place soon putting many of our members back to work.聽 More updates will follow.”

This story will continue to be updated as new information is received.