San Diego
Operating engineers at Kelco, the nation’s largest harvester of kelp, have ended a 10-day strike against the company.
About 250 employees returned to their jobs Monday, one day after members of Local 501 of the International Union of Operating Engineers voted overwhelmingly to approve a new three-year contract, according to Steve Zapoticzny, manager of public affairs for Kelco.
“We’re obviously very happy to see them back, and things are back to normal now,” said Zapoticzny, who declined to discuss specifics of the contract. He said management personnel had filled in for the striking workers and that the company lost no revenue.
The operating engineers, whose wages averaged $13 an hour, were joined in the dispute by members of the machinists union, most of whom had honored the picket lines even though they had agreed earlier to a company contract offer.
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