Join IUOE 701 and Building Trades Unions At A Rally At The Port of Longview On 1/22/25
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701 (IUOE) and associated building trade unions will banner outside the Port of Longview on Wednesday, Jan. 22, as commissioners consider awarding a major project to Rotschy, Inc., a company with a serious history of willfully violating child labor laws and injuring children.
The Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion Project (IRCE) will use a mix of federal and local funding to expand the existing rail line between the Port and the mainline rail line connecting Portland and Seattle. Rotschy, a Washington-based, non-union construction company, is the lowest bidder in the procurement process for general contractor of the IRCE Project. Per Port of Longview’s regulations, the Port must award the project to the lowest bidder or put the project out for rebid. Though Rotschy seems to meet the Port’s requirements to secure the award, the company has a history of severe violations, making it unfit to work in our community. These violations reportedly include:
- Overworking children at least 230 times
- Allowing children to operate on or near prohibited machines on at least 35 occasions
- Denying children’s meal breaks at least 45 times and working children for more hours than state law allows and during school hours on more than 150 occasions
- Violating child labor laws, leading to at least 2 injured children on Rotschy job sites
Most recently the company’s willful disregard of labor laws led a 16-year-old boy to suffer catastrophic injuries on a Rostchy project. The young employee was tragically dragged underneath the blades of a walk-behind trencher, resulting in the amputation of both legs. Rotschy has racked up over $306,000 in labor violation fines, according to local reporting, and over $116,000 in environmental fines for violating permit requirements and polluting the Willamette River.
Unfortunately, these violations seem to be a routine cost of business for the company, with a pattern of repeat violations dating back to at least 2019. Rotschy is not a contractor who committed a violation unawares of labor laws. Rather, the company is woefully aware of the violations it is committing and persists unabated and unremorseful. IUOE Local 701 and the Longview/Kelso Building Trades Council are extremely concerned about the ramifications of the Port of Longview allowing this contractor into our community.
Find out more about Rotschy in this PDF:
“The Longview/Kelso Building and Construction Trades Council (LKBCTC) has a long history of advocating for infrastructure improvements and other construction projects in Cowlitz County,” LKBTC President Mike Bridges said. “We have supported the IRCE Project from its infancy, including partnering with the Port of Longview to bolster federal grant efforts needed to take on a project of this magnitude. The LKBCTC and its affiliates have concerns with the apparent low bidder’s safety record and egregious abuse of the minor worker exemption in Washington State.”
Workers will hold a large rally outside the Port of Longview building, featuring the inflatable Greedy Pig, to shame Rotschy for prioritizing greed over protecting children. The Port of Longview Board of Commissioners meeting will start at 9 a.m. Workers will be present outside the “White House” starting at 7 a.m. Media are encouraged to attend for interviews and photo opportunities.
What: Rally & bannering to call out Rotschy for violating child labor laws and urge the Port of Longview to put the IRCE Project out for rebid
When: Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7 a.m.
Where: Port of Longview “White House,” 10 International Way, Longview, WA 98632
Contact IUOE 701 Communications & Research Specialist Aurora Biggers at aurora@iuoe701.com or 971-204-5143 for more information.