Behind a metal fence on a once desolate lot, construction crews excavate solid rock, erect thick steel beams and pour concrete for long hours in the day in a rush to complete a warehouse that, in a year, will be the third-largest Amazon fulfillment center in the country. In front of the metal fence, more than a dozen local union workers stand with picket signs, as they have nearly every day since December.
In September 2021, the Woodburn Planning Commission approved Amazon’s land use application for a 128-acre site. In return, the city is promised nearly $6.7 million for necessary improvements to infrastructure around the site and 1,800 new jobs in the warehouse. Local trade unions say they’ve been frozen out of constructing the massive warehouse, and instead replaced with out-of-state labor — some of which has ties to the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints, formerly led by Warren Jeffs.
Union representatives say soon after Woodburn approved the land use application, and contrary to Amazon’s publicly stated commitment to local ethical labor, the construction project was staffed by out-of-state contractors with a list of labor violations in tow.
Members of Ironworkers Local 29 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, Local 48 have stood alongside other union workers outside the Amazon development site on South Butteville Road in Woodburn, picketing the project in an effort to educate the community about Amazon’s perceived failures.
Local 29 business manager Jason Fussell said Amazon’s stated labor policy does not match their current actions.
“Amazon has this policy, and this policy talks about for their supply chains and standards, the company is committed to ensuring goods and services provided are produced in a way that protects the fundamental dignity of workers. And they don’t do that,” Fussell said. “They say one thing and then do the other. The contractors that they’re using right now to do that do not qualify for that policy.”
Things went cold
Shortly before the Woodburn Planning Commission approved Amazon’s proposal for the site, Stephen Maduli-Williams, an economic development manager for Amazon, told the commission Amazon was dedicated to working with the community to support the local economy and address their concerns about the project.
“Not only are we committed to bringing 1,800 new jobs to Woodburn, but we’re also committed to making sure that as many of those jobs as possible are local Woodburn residents,” Maduli-Williams said at a Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 9, 2021.
Ironworkers Local 29 and other local trade unions heard about the project in late June 2021. By late July 2021, Fussell said the local trade unions were contacting Amazon about using their labor on the project.
Robert Camarillo, executive secretary of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council, was one of the first to contact Amazon about making a bid for the project.
Camarillo said he made a few phone calls in late July 2021 to Amazon World Services and then emailed the merchandising department in early August. He was then referred to the project’s general contractor, Layton Construction. Based in Utah, this is Layton’s first construction project in Oregon — they built fulfillment centers for Amazon in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
After contacting Layton, Camarillo said a meeting was eventually scheduled for Aug. 3, 2021 with a Layton representative and several local trade union representatives — including Shane Nells from Local 29, Josh McClaughry from Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 and Camarillo.
“They were very nice, very professional, and they said some of the right things,” Camarillo said. “But you can tell when it’s going to be a productive conversation. It felt like it was one of those calls like ‘okay, we’re gonna just check the box off.’”
Camarillo said there were a few more follow-ups between Layton and the unions — “and then things just went cold. Next thing you know, we were done,” he said.
In the end, Camarillo said only one local contractor was hired for the project — K & E Excavation out of Salem. Camarillo said he was told Amazon and Layton’s reason for opting for out-of-state contractors was a concern that local labor wouldn’t be enough to cover the size of the project and the best contractors for the project were from out of state.
“Some of the timelines that they were giving these local contractors were not realistic, and Amazon’s response was, ‘Well, we have an aggressive schedule, we need this built by a certain time,’” Camarillo said. “You know you’re coming into town, so why not make sure that these general contractors are reaching out to the local workforce with enough notice?”
Instead, Amazon via Layton largely favored out-of-state and non-union contractors. These contractors included Linden Steel from Texas and Building Zone Industries, or BZI, from Utah.
Aside from being selected for the project over local contractors, Linden Steel and BZI presented other concerns for the union workers. The unions were concerned the out-of-state contractors and their subcontractors may not be licensed by the Oregon Construction Contractors Board, or CCB.
Pervasive patterns
Street Roots contacted CCB about the licensing status of the companies involved in the project, including Linden Steel and BZI on Feb. 18. All companies were licensed in Oregon, with the exception of Linden Steel, which had been working on the site since December, according to Ironworkers Local 29 business agent and organizer Paul Diaz.
Chris Huntington from the CCB confirmed Linden Steel was previously fined $1,000 in January for the violation of working without a license. CCB also fined Kent Companies $1,000 for hiring an unlicensed subcontractor. CCB fines $1,000 for first violations and $5,000 for any future violations.
On Feb. 22, CCB sent another investigator to the site to follow up on a complaint from Local 29 that Linden Steel was continuing to work on the site, despite still not having an Oregon license.
“However, CCB was not able to confirm that Linden was on the site working during the agency’s visit on the 22nd,” Huntington said. “Because there was no confirmation that Linden was on-site at the time of our visit, no additional notice of violation was issued.”
The next day, Linden Steel’s license was approved. According to Huntington, Linden Steel submitted a license application on Jan. 19. The application was approved and the license was issued Feb. 23.
Street Roots was unable to acquire and verify the subcontractor list from Layton, which didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The project’s other major contractor, BZI, also out of Utah, raised concerns for Local 29 for different reasons. The NW Ironworkers District Council released a document asking Amazon to “sever ties” with its “extreme fundamentalist exploitive project partner.”
The union says complaints have been filed against BZI for wage theft and safety violations in Colorado, Utah and Texas. The union also says the company is associated with the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS, alleging several people in leadership at BZI are members of FLDS.
According to a report from Texas Child Protective Services in 2008, CPS found evidence of “a pervasive pattern of sexual abuse” at an FLDS ranch after a highly publicized raid.
More than 400 children were removed from the ranch, and the investigation concluded that more than 12 children were forced into marriages with FLDS men. Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence in prison.
BZI did not respond to a request for comment. Amazon PR Manager of National Media Relations and Operations Alisa Carroll said, “We take allegations seriously, look into them as appropriate, and take action if substantiated.”
Diaz said Local 29’s picket is partially due to concerns over BZI operating in the community.
“I think if the public did their due diligence and did the research on that contractor (BZI) themselves, they would be thinking a lot differently,” Diaz said.
A family wage
The workers’ greatest concern though: without local jobs, they will have to travel out of Oregon for projects.
“This is how I support my family,” Diaz said. “If I don’t have work here — just like all the other members in my local also — if there’s no work here, what do we do? We can’t support a family. We got to travel. It’s not right. When it’s something like this, we should be doing it locally.”
On the picket line, IBEW organizer Zac Bakke said he felt “irritated that this is an out-of-state contractor (bringing) in out-of-state workers for local jobs.” Bakke added, “This building should be built by local people. And preferably by companies that provide solid benefits like health care and sick leave and living wages. To have somebody come in from out of state and pay less than the standard wage out here, it’s disgusting.”
Prior to starting the picket, Local 29 sent certified letters to Linden Steel and BZI, notifying them of the plans to picket and requesting a wage report. The companies then had 10 days to respond. All of the companies declined to divulge their wages.
“I’ve heard various things, that they’re getting paid minimum wage to 20 bucks an hour,” Diaz said.
Local 29’s compensation package for ironworkers is $72,010, plus benefits.
“That’s a family wage,” Diaz said. “You know what I mean? You can support your family on that. To be honest with you, I don’t know what they’re making. I mean, I hope they’re doing all right, but I don’t know.”
Street Roots was unable to obtain a wage report from any of the companies being picketed. Local 29 workers said they are concerned the wages on the project don’t meet the Davis-Bacon Act that defines prevailing wages in Oregon. For an electrician, the base prevailing wage rate must be at least $38.49. For ironworkers: $40.56.
Diaz and Fussell said the intent of the picket is not to ask workers to stop working on the site; it’s to make the community aware of what is happening.
“It’s just to inform the public,” Diaz said. “I watched all the city council meetings and everything else and when Amazon representatives were here, they never mentioned to the public that they would be bringing out-of-state workers here.”
Dollars and cents and infrastructure
During the Sept. 9, 2021 Woodburn Planning Commission meeting, five people testified about their concerns with the project. Butteville Road residents Donald and Kathleen Shade said they were concerned that the fulfillment center would lead to pollution in the neighborhood water. Juan Martinez, Roberto Schroeder, Darlene Sprecher and Pamela Foreman — a city council member in Gervais — all shared concerns the fulfillment center would cause traffic issues throughout the city and neighboring Interstate 5.
Conditions of Woodburn’s planning commission approving the project required Amazon to pay “their fair share of necessary infrastructure improvements to the maximum extent permitted under the law,” according to Tommy Moore, Woodburn public affairs and communications manager.
“If I don’t have work here — just like all the other members in my local also — if there’s no work here, what do we do? We can’t support a family. We got to travel. It’s not right. When it’s something like this, we should be doing it locally.”
— Paul Diaz, Business Agent and organizer of Ironworkers Local 29
Some of the physical improvements Amazon is required to construct include a roundabout to replace the “failing and dangerous” Highway 219 and Butteville Road intersection, widening Butteville Road, and adding lanes onto the Interstate 5 exit ramp.
Amazon is required to pay the city $5.4 million for transportation system development charges, an additional $185,000 for off-site improvements to Highway 219, $800,000 for improvements to the Parr Road and Butteville Road intersection, and $300,000 for improvements to the city’s transit service in this area — almost $1.3 million. Amazon will also pay $10,000 for a civic art fee for the approved roundabout on Highway 219 and will construct a city entrance sign or pay $7,500 to have one installed.
Moore said the required transportation mitigation fees have already been paid, and most of the other fees and improvements do not need to be completed until the facility opens.
To address concerns about water pollution, Amazon is required to treat all water on-site before it returns to community waters.
Well-paying jobs
Addressing the legality of Amazon using out-of-state contractors, Danielle Franco-Malone, representing the NW Ironworkers District Council, said she wasn’t aware of any legal reason Amazon couldn’t use out-of-state workers on the project, aside from needing proper licensing. The only case in which an employer must use union labor is if they entered into a project labor agreement with the developer or city.
If Woodburn stipulated Amazon needed to sign a project labor agreement in order to have their proposal approved, the city could have required Amazon to use local labor or union labor on the project. However, no labor agreement was publicly discussed for the project.
In her comment to Street Roots on behalf of Amazon, Carroll said, “We look forward to our continued partnership with the city and community at large and are excited to bring thousands of good-paying jobs with great benefits to Woodburn, as well as make significant investments in support of infrastructure improvements and transportation upgrades, as well as civic art projects and parks development.”
But Camarillo questions the sustainability of these jobs.
“Are they going to be good jobs?” Camarillo asks. “Or are they going to be just some entry-level jobs where people are going to be exploited and taken advantage of and jobs with no real career?”
When asked to comment on the picket and community concerns about Amazon’s presence in Woodburn, Moore wrote in an email, “The City’s authority to regulate this project is limited to reviewing and approving its land-use application (pursuant to the Woodburn Development Ordinance and state law) and by implementing the Oregon Structural Specialty Code (building codes) through our Building Division.”
Next time Amazon comes to town
It’s too late for Amazon to change its stance and hire Local 29 and IBEW workers for the construction, Diaz said. But this is just the beginning of Amazon’s involvement in Woodburn and greater Oregon. The Butteville Road location, once completed in 2023, will be the third largest Amazon fulfillment center in the country. Amazon also has plans to open a 500,000 square foot facility in Canby by 2023.
“I just want to make sure everybody’s aware for the next time that Amazon comes into town,” Diaz said.
After three months on the picket line, Diaz said he’s still optimistic due to the consistent turnout. Loretta Smith, former Multnomah County Commissioner and current candidate for Oregon’s 6th Congressional District, voiced her support at a rally on Feb. 25, and current Oregon Labor Commissioner candidate and Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla joined the workers on the picket line on March 2.
Echoing the statements of several other workers on the line, Diaz said, “I see it as a long haul. I’ll be there until the end of the job, to be honest with you.”
Editor’s note: Language in this article has been updated to clarify the city of Woodburn approved a land use application for the Amazon site. The previous version of this article used unclear language regarding the type of proposal the city approved. This article has also been updated to remove erroneous references to a tax abatement agreement between the city of Woodburn and Amazon. The previous version of this article incorrectly states Amazon qualified for such a tax abatement, which it did not. Street Roots regrets this error.