03/26/2020

Construction Industry's Workers Divided Over Staying on the job During Coronavirus Shutdown

The Seattle Times March 24, 2020 at 6:58 pmBy Katherine Khashimova Long Seattle Times business reporter

Under Gov. Jay Inslee’s Monday mandate, workers on projects including new Amazon office buildings and the KeyArena overhaul won’t be allowed to come to work starting Wednesday evening.

That will alleviate the concerns of some workers about novel coronavirus transmission at construction job sites, which can be hard to keep sanitized.

But in a move sure to please the construction industry, Inslee’s order contained a wide-ranging exemption for construction of health-care facilities, transportation infrastructure, housing and other “essential” projects.

“You can’t stop building in the middle of SR-520,” said Monty Anderson, executive secretary of the Seattle Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents 15,000 construction workers across 19 unions. “Maintenance workers at Seattle Housing Authority. Those are essential services.”...click here to read more