Nearly a year after joining Teamsters Local 174 of Tukwila, Wash., 50 Corliss Resources drivers ratified a contract with the Seattle market ready mixed producer. Contract terms include wage increases, employer-paid family Teamster health care coverage, pension contributions, and work rules to protect bargaining unit members. A decision on Teamsters representation followed the producer’s January 2022 acquisition by Heidelberg Materials. Contract negotiations were slow and contentious earlier this year, Local 174 officials note, ahead of a June strike authorization vote signaling that drivers with a sister Heidelberg Materials business—the former Cadman—would honor a Corliss picket line.
“This contract will improve the lives of Corliss drivers dramatically and is a testament to what happens when Teamsters stand together and remain ‘Rock Solid,’” said Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks, referencing a slogan among his concrete mixer driver members. “This group was nonunion a year ago. Now their pay, benefits, and working conditions are within reach of the contract covering other Local 174 mixer drivers. These massive improvements are exceptional for a first contract.”
Heidelberg Materials AG has promoted Axel Conrads, president of the Heidelberg Materials North America Midwest Region, to the new role of chief technical officer, responsible for the producer’s global Cement, Aggregates & Asphalt and Readymix Competence Centers, effective February 2024. He will also join the Heidelberg Materials Managing Board, bringing deep technical expertise and informing fellow directors of projects steering the enterprise to a net zero future. Conrads has served in senior Heidelberg Materials management positions since 1999, including Germany, Belgium and Bulgaria tours, and moved into his present role in 2020. His promotion is concurrent with other major moves in the producer’s European operations.
“The changes within the Managing Board are part of our long-term succession planning,” says Heidelberg Materials Chairman Dr. Bernd Scheifele. “By reorganizing the responsibilities for our Group areas and putting an even higher focus on the technical aspects of our business, we further strengthen the basis for continuing successful development of our company.”