Local 710 Reaches Unprecedented Tentative Agreement at Jewel Negotiations
Teamsters Fight Hard to Unify Membership and Improve Benefits for All
After another marathon negotiation session that went into early Saturday morning, the Teamsters Local 710 Jewel Bargaining Committee has reached a strong tentative agreement for both the driver and warehouse contracts.
The bargaining committee did a phenomenal job of holding the Company to the fire and advocating for the best interests of the members. We got a tentative agreement that we’re proud to bring back to the membership, as it does reflect their hard work and sacrifices they’ve made in previous contracts.
John T. Coli
Trustee of Local 710
Negotiations started at 10:00 a.m. The Company started by submitting their proposals. They stated that they wanted to reach a deal in today, pending the acceptance of a 21-day extension agreement. Initially, their proposal showed movement but continued to ignore the issues the membership feels are strike-worthy.
The Union worked diligently for the next four hours to craft a last, best and final offer they felt the membership would strike over. The Company responded a couple hours later with “supposals” versus a formal written proposal. Both parties proceeded to bargain until a tentative agreement was reached at 1:50 a.m.
Summaries of each tentative agreement will be available for the membership to download as soon as possible.
Throughout negotiations, we worked hard to make sure that all groups were treated fairly in our new agreement. This time around, there was not any group considered as a sacrificial lamb.
We stuck together to build unity among the membership.
Mike Cioe
Warehouse Steward
Mr. Coli went on to comment on the entire negotiating process. “It was the transparency and openness with our members in communicating throughout bargaining that got us to such an unprecedented agreement. We ensured that management did the right thing, and they came to a fair agreement that shows new appreciation for their hardworking employees.”
Counsel for the union is drafting the final contract language. Pending the review and approval of the Company and IBT, a finalized tentative agreement will be presented for the membership to review. Members may direct any questions or concerns to the any member of the Bargaining Committee. Mr. Coli will be on site Thursday and Friday to address questions as well. A vote is scheduled for Sunday, March 6th from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Teamsters Local 710 is an affiliate of Teamsters Joint Council 25, America’s premier labor union for Chicago, Illinois and northwest Indiana.