Darien Road Projects Still Delayed

DARIEN, IL – Darien's street projects continue to be delayed because of a strike at area quarries.

"The bottom line is that there is no new contract in place yet," Dan Gombac, the city's municipal services director, told the City Council on Monday.

Darien is suffering from the same issue as many other towns in the Chicago area.

"There is some asphalt going on private property like parking lots and driveways, but that's a different mix they use altogether," Gombac said. "So again, just because you see asphalt doesn't mean it's for municipalities or a government agency in general, including schools."

At the quarries, the members mine for the stone, gravel and sand that are essential in road materials such as asphalt.

The strike started in early June against Lehigh Hanson, Vulcan Materials and Lafarge Holcim. The union represents operators of heavy equipment.

On Monday, Local 150's president, James Sweeney, told members that the materials companies submitted a flawed "final offer" Friday. He said the firms warned they would withdraw all back pay if members failed to approve the offer by Sunday.

"Clearly, after dragging their feet through this entire strike, the companies wanted to put a gun to your heads," Sweeney said to members.

In a news release in early June, Local 150 said it filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. It accused the companies of bad faith bargaining and violations of employees' federally protected rights.

Together, the companies operate 35 quarries and facilities across northern Illinois and employ 300 Local 150 members.

In a statement in June, the Chicago Area Aggregate Producers Association, which represents the companies, said it has been trying to get to the "real issues" since early March. It said the union had yet to present a wage and benefits proposal.

"(Association) members work hard to treat their employees fairly, and they value employee safety, health and well-being," the statement said.

The association said Local 150 members pay no premiums for their health insurance and that members have access to a "comfortable" pension plan.

In its latest statement, the association said it presented a fair and final contract offer that "reflects our good faith bargaining efforts since March 1."

"We continue to meet with Local 150 leaders. Our top priority is getting our employees back to work," the statement said.