Duluth Union Members Bring Attention To Truck Hitting 40th Ave. West Bridge.

Teamsters say the apprentice programs are not the same.

Last week a truck hit a bridge in Duluth, and Friday union workers held signs outside the offices of the non-union company that owned the truck.

Members of Teamsters General Local Union 346 gathered Friday morning at the offices of the Kaski Inc. construction company.

It was one of Kaski’s drivers and trucks that hit the bridge crossing the freeway at 40th Avenue West.

The incident happened last Thursday, and the bridge has remained closed since then for inspection and a repair plan.

Members of the Teamsters say Kaski is non-union, and does not use the same apprenticeship program.

“The biggest concern I have with this situation is I got a young family. Most people have families on these roads and for him to hit a bridge,” said Zak Radzak, Secretary-Treasurer of 346.

“Thankfully nobody was killed in this situation or hurt, but it could have been somebody’s life, it could have been somebody’s you know, family. Thankfully it was just a bridge this time, but it’s going to cost the taxpayer thousands if not millions of dollars to repair what they’ve done,” Radzak said.

Steven Kaski, company president, issued a statement acknowledging it was one of their trucks that hit the bridge. He said the company would own its mistake and be accountable.

The statement said in part, “…We take FULL responsibility for this incident and are doing everything we can to make it right. We also want to apologize for the inconvenience this has caused the community. We have a great team of employees that work together and support one another…”