Union says Space Needle offers members 'poison candy' as labor dispute heats up

Union employees at the Space Needle on Monday said they walked away last week from a month-long mediation with the owners of the Needle.

The two sides have met in mediation for around 40 hours over the past weeks, including late into the night Thursday, when union officials said they walked away after Needle managers showed little sign of movement on key issues.

One sticking point in the long-running dispute is whether the Space Needle can continue to subcontract out some work, which the owners and operators of the Needle said they've always had the right to do through an understanding with the union, Local 8 of Unite Here.

Local 8, as part of a national push, is demanding new language be added related to subcontracting into an agreement with the Space Needle, Space Needle officials said Monday. The union continues to "condition bargaining on new subcontracting provisions which remove management rights and require subcontractors to sign contracts with Local 8," Needle officials said in a statement.

The union says that unionized workers at the Space Needle have gone more than 1,000 days without raises, though the Space Needle said Monday it has proposed "a broad-based package" with increases of $3.55 an hour.

"Our members are too smart to fall for the Space Needle's poison candy. Raises will not matter if people's jobs are contracted out," Local 8 President Erik Van Rossum said in a press release.

Ron Sevart, president and CEO of the Space Needle, issued a statement, saying that the company respects the collective bargaining process and is actively participating in mediation with Local 8 representatives.

According to Van Rossum, the union has authorized the Needle to implement raises since 2013, but has not and instead hired new, temporary non-union workers at higher starting wages.

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The dispute dates back more than three years when, according to the union, the Space Needle unilaterally terminated the company's union contract with Unite Here Local 8, which represents nearly 5,000 members in Oregon and Washington.

The Space Needle employs up to 300 people, though that varies by season, with about half in jobs represented by the union.

Source: Puget Sound Business Journal