Local 710 Members at ReaderLink Ratify New Agreement
Teamsters Secure Higher Wages, Strengthen Bargaining Unit
(from left to right) Local 710 Business Agent Mike Ramirez with ReaderLink Bargaining Committee members Terrenai Scott, Dana Triplett, Jesus Pantoja and Carlos Lozano
Teamsters Local 710 distribution warehouse workers at ReaderLink have overwhelmingly ratified a new contract by a margin of nearly 3-to-1.
Wages will increase 30 cents per hour each year of the three-year agreement, including retroactivity pay to January 4, 2016.
Local 710 successfully negotiated many improvements that strengthen the bargaining unit as a whole. The top 143 employees on the seniority list will be grandfathered in as guaranteed full-time employees and the senior wage tier will increase from 19 to the top 25 members on the seniority list.
The ReaderLink bargaining unit itself will expand by approximately 18 positions with the inclusion of work that was once performed exclusively by temporary workers.
The Local 710 Bargaining Committee did a great job in making the members’ voices heard at the table.
The improved benefits we were able to secure will have a lasting effect in strengthening not only this contract, but the agreements we bargain for in the future and sustained solidarity within the membership.
Mike Ramirez
Local 710 Business Agent
Additional improvements were won for many quality-of-life issues, including bereavement leave, wash-up time and the Teamsters’ powerful grievance procedure. Members will enjoy additional flexibility with two existing paid personal days, which Teamsters will be able to use with 30 minutes notice as paid sick days.
The new Local 710 ReaderLink contract will expire December 31, 2018.
Teamsters Local 710 is an affiliate of Teamsters Joint Council 25, America’s premier labor union for Chicago, Illinois and northwest Indiana.