For several weeks, passers-by on Redmond Way have noticed two men standing in front of the Everything Party store, holding a sign referring to a labor dispute and proclaiming, “Everything Party hurts our community.”

On June 6, a Redmond Reporter staff member approached the sign holders and asked them about the labor dispute and how the store was hurting the community. They said they didn’t speak English, but offered a flyer from the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters.

The flyer stated, “The Pacific NW Regional Council of Carpenters has a labor dispute with Heiberg Inc., which is a sub-contractor for SD Deacon at the Landing in Renton. Heiberg Inc. does not meet area labor standards, including providing or fully paying for family healthcare and pension for all of its carpenter craft employees.”

The Landing is a new shopping center in Renton, where a second location of Everything Party is scheduled to open in July. Mark Potter, owner of Everything Party, explained that SD Deacon, the general contractor for the entire shopping center, hires both union and non-union sub-contractors. Heiberg is a non-union sub-contractor. But Potter added that he has no say as to which sub-contractors are hired by SD Deacon to complete the construction at The Landing and that no one from his Redmond store is involved in the labor dispute.

The sign holders’ presence on Redmond Way has been frustrating, said Potter. But because they’re standing on a public sidewalk and haven’t bothered his customers, employees or delivery drivers, he has chosen to ignore them.

Jim Bove, spokesperson for the Redmond Police Department concurred, “If they are on public property, then it is their first amendment right to be there as long as they aren’t blocking traffic, interfering with anyone going about their normal activities, threatening or harassing anyone, etc. This group has taken similar actions throughout the region and is not known to cause problems — they are there to make their statement, not to cause problems or harm to the public.”

A disclaimer at the bottom of the flyer from the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters said, in fine print, “We are not urging any worker to refuse to work nor are we urging any supplier to refuse to deliver goods.”

The Reporter has attempted to obtain a statement from the carpenters’ council but phone calls have not been returned.