Port of Longview commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to award a $44 million rail expansion contract to Rotschy Inc. to the ire of an overflow crowd of union tradesmen and women.
The Vancouver-based construction company was the lowest of five bidders on the multimillion-dollar project to at least double the port’s rail capacity. But laborers who filled every seat in the auditorium voiced concerns that the low bids are coming at the cost of worker safety.
Local union leaders at the meeting highlighted a Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigation into child labor and worker safety violations that stemmed from a 16-year-old boy losing his legs while working a job in La Center. The teen was operating a walk-behind trencher in June 2023 when he was dragged underneath, according to a release issued by L&I last year.
Parked outside the Port of Longview administrative offices was a yellow pickup emblazoned with the words “Rat Tracker” and The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701 logo. Inside its bed was an inflated pig and a sign stating “Shame on Rotschy for violating child labor laws and injuring children.”