Union workers picket major UI construction project

A handful of local union members are upset that out-of-state non-union workers have been hired to work on a major construction project at the University of Iowa.

The members are protesting the Chicago based, Walsh Construction, the general contractor in charge of construction for the $122 million dollar Pappajohn Biomedical Institute off Newton Road in Iowa City.

“Our workers live in the communities, our children go to the schools, we spend our tax dollars here,” said Shane Merrick, of Carpenters Local 1260 in Iowa City.

Merrick and about 25 other Union members held signs and protested Walsh Construction Friday morning.  Merrick said about 3o local carpenters jobs on the project are in jeopardy.

“Our guys are getting phased out,” he said.

Walsh Construction declined to comment on the situation. University of Iowa spokesman Tom More said the project is not on strike, and that it remains on schedule (completed in 2014) and on budget.

Merrick said he plans to continue to protest in support of the union carpenters “all summer.”