Union bricklayers resumed work on the county’s new administration building this week, following the end of a strike that lasted 50 days. The Union workers had been absent from the job site since June 1, the same day St. Louis Bricklayers Local 1 began a strike after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with the Masons Contractors Association of St. Louis. John J. Smith Masonry, of St. Louis, is the contractor in charge of the masonry work for the county project, and a member of the Masons Contractors Association. The two sides signed a four-year agreement, retroactive to June 1, following a 14-hour session last Tuesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Had the strike continued into this week, the Warren County Commission was faced with a difficult decision on whether or not to hire non-union bricklayers to jump-start a portion of the project. Commissioners were relieved to see the strike end. “We’re excited they signed a contract and are back to work,” Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said. “It takes the burden of the decision-making process off of us.” John Smith, the company’s owner, told commissioners last Monday in a meeting he could hire non-union workers to restart that portion of the project if contract talks continued to drag on. He had already talked to potential subcontractors in Texas, Arizona and Kentucky. Commissioners, however, were apprehensive about bringing in an out-of-state company to work on the building. Prior to accepting bids on the project, commissioners emphasized they wanted to have as much local representation as possible with the project’s work force. Smith had told the commission last week that half of his crew working on the administration building reside in Warren County. “They will take pride in what they are doing,” Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage said. “I’m glad they settled their dispute and got back to work.” Construction has been ongoing on the county’s 36,670-square-foot facility since October. The county’s new facility will house all non-court related offices. The building is being constructed on 3 acres the county purchased in 2009 on South Highway 47 and Mockingbird Lane in Warrenton. Construction is expected to be complete in April 2012. The building project is estimated to cost $6.5 million and is being funded out of the county’s capital improvement fund. The bricklayers’ absence had not caused any delays in the project yet, according to Greg Drake, of Septagon, the construction manager. The union crews from John J. Smith Masonry had started some masonry work in May, but were told to leave the job site once the strike was imminent. Workers were back on the job Tuesday and a second crew was expected to join Wednesday to double the number of bricklayers on the project. Initially, only one crew was expected to work on the administration building. Drake said the bricklayers have up to seven weeks to complete their portion of the project. The contract agreement reached last week features hourly raises of $3.40 spread over the next four years, maintaining eight-hour work days and a 30-pound weight limit on a block to be lifted by one person, the newspaper reported. The union also agreed to work Saturdays in place of time lost for inclement weather and will assign a union steward from one of the contractor’s existing employees on a specific job.