Construction workers to picket against Willits bypass delays

Construction laborers and engineers contracted to work on the controversial bypass off of Highway 101 in Willits will hold a picket rally Thursday.

The workers are frustrated by delays in the project over the past few months. The rally is a follow-up to one held last week, where roughly 60 people showed up.

"We've been working to get this project going for years," said John Galeotti, a representative from one of three union groups involved in the rally.

Environmental groups have raged against the project, and a 24-year-old Willits woman has been staging a tree-sit since Jan. 28. State Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, recently wrote a letter to the California Department of Transportation raising environmental concerns.

Galeotti estimates upward of 100 people from the union are out of work as a result of the bypass delays.

The rally will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Safeway parking lot in downtown Willits.