DETROIT – A work stoppage involving Michigan road contractors and heavy equipment operators isn't showing any signs of letting up.
The majority of Michigan Department of Transportation projects are built by private companies. Those companies employ the union equipment operators. The operators and contractor's trade group have been in a contract stalemate for months.
The stalemate has now resulted in a lockout, and Michigan drivers are on the losing end of the struggle.
When MDOT first announced the I-696 repaving project on Detroit's east side would happen, there were hopes that it would be finished by November. But now, the project is down to the dirt and there's nothing going on. The operating engineers are locked out, and it could be another year before it's finished.
"It's unacceptable," one driver said.
"It makes it difficult for everyone," another driver said.
"Traffic is so bad," another driver said. "I hope they get back to work."
Dust is collecting on the idle construction equipment as the lockout reaches day two. Contractors sand their employees have been unable to make any settlement progress.
Of 14,000 Michigan operating engineers statewide, 2,000 are off the job. The union told Local 4 that members will be filing for unemployment benefits because they believe they've been laid off.
Company owners said workers can't do that.
Those kinds of nuances are lost on those who have to weave around the massive construction sites squeezing and clogging Metro Detroit's rocky roads.
Annie Stevens said she can't bear the thought of a prolonged work stoppage.
"It makes it difficult for everybody because every road right now is a mess," Stevens said. "To have it longer -- it's going to be terrible."
Quincy Pickett said he is tired of the workaround.
"All my family is west," Picket said. "I'm east, so I don't go west too often anymore because of I-696 currently, and to hear it's going to be next year, possibly. It's a huge disappointment."
Marvin Williams said he wants the roads to go back to normal.
"I take 8 Mile to come to work, so I leave about an hour earlier now," Williams said.
As labor disputes go, this one is highly unusual. There are no talks scheduled and there are no prospects of talks.
The engineers are treating this as winter arriving early and are now looking to find other union work in other places around the state, Local 4 has learned.