Construction of O’Reilly’s presses on

Last Thursday the Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council and G.M. Northrup Corporation, the general contractor for the O’Reilly Auto Parts’ project on Seventh Avenue, came to an agreement. Construction resumed early last Friday as concrete was poured by a local union subcontractor.

“We got a call from G.M. Northrup [O’Reilly’s general contractor] on Thursday night,” Home Menders Inc. (HMI) employee Bubba McGregor said. “On Friday we went to work.”

According to HMI workers McGregor and Paul Morris, HMI has only been contracted to do the walls although it plans on bidding out the work on the sidewalks and the paving to G.M. Northrup. HMI replaced Applied Concrete Technologies, which is based in Hudson, Wis.

“They [G.M. Northrup and O’Reilly’s] have switched directions and we expect them to use local union contractors for the rest of the project,” said Craig Olson, president of the Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council. According to Olson, G.M. Northrup was directed by O’Reilly’s to reevaluate the situation and rebid some of the subcontracting to local union contractors.

Two weeks ago, protestors from unions associated with the Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council were protesting the hiring of a non-local, non-union subcontractor for the construction of the Two Harbors O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store. Construction had halted because the ready-mix supplier, Duluth Ready Mix, declined to cross the picket line and bring concrete to the construction site. Negotiations then began between the Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council, O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, and G.M. Northrup Corporation.

Time is running short for the project now that winter is on its way. McGregor said that the ground should be thawed and covered to keep it from freezing. “Between us and Veit, the dirt contractor, we’re all re-pricing because of the three week delay of the picketing, for the winter conditions,” McGregor said. “Everyone’s back to the pricing board.”

McGregor said the project will become more expensive. “It could be anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000,” he said. “It all depends on how cold it gets, how deep it freezes and who does what. If G.M. Northrop does a lot of it themselves, if they sub [contract] it all out—it’s the million dollar question.”

Olson said that he hopes the project can continue somewhat on schedule. Representatives from O’Reilly Auto Parts corporate office in Springfield, Mo. and G.M. Northrup did not return calls from the News-Chronicle for comment.

Tags: lake county, news, two, harbors