Striking laborers have delayed work on more than 20 Illinois road projects during what is considered prime time for road construction, Illinois Department of Transportation officials said.
Operating Engineers Local 520 entered a third day of their strike Wednesday, a union spokeswoman said. Union officials would not comment on what prompted the strike in Madison County and other counties in the Metro East area.
Matt Vanover, spokesman for IDOT, said the strike shortens the span of time the department has to finish the $110 million worth of projects affected by the work stoppage.
“This is the time of year when it’s very essential for IDOT to be out and working,” Vanover said. “Typically, this time of year we don’t have a problem with rain, so this is one of our busiest times of year.”
IDOT hires contractors who bid for road work, and those contractors then negotiate separate contracts with laborers such as those now striking, Vanover said. Vanover said he did not know the cause of the strike.
Joe Brady, spokesman for the union’s parent organization, the International Union of Operating Engineers, said he also did not know what started the strike among the union local’s 1,200 members.
Projects affected by the strike include work along Illinois 111, the resurfacing and replacement of Illinois 127, and road widening and resurfacing along Illinois-159, among other jobs, Vanover said.
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Compiled from news services.
