Local 710 Drivers Push Forward in Negotiations with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits
Teamsters Express Need to Accelerate Negotiations, Move to Cancel Extension Agreement
The Teamsters Local 710 Bargaining Committee for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS) met for the eighth round of bargaining today.
Secretary-Treasurer Mike Cales joined negotiations and opened by explaining that the union’s committee met with the local’s counsel and representatives from Joint Council 25 and the International yesterday for serious conversations regarding the pace of negotiations, the overall passion from the committee, and what actions to take moving forward.
“We have heard [from the company committee] how unprofessional we are, that certain members are self bargaining, and that we don’t have the members’ best interests at heart,” said Gabe Stephan, SGWS Bolingbrook Steward. “We are looking for a deal that provides protections, job security, and fair market wages that will not put the future of SGWS at risk.”
Cales also presented a letter to the company to cancel the current extension agreement in ten days per the language in that agreement.
There is a significant amount of dedication from this committee, and the entire bargaining unit has the full support of the union and their committee. We need to make meaningful forward progress and are looking to reach a fair agreement as soon as possible.
Mike Cales
Local 710 Secretary-Treasurer
Negotiations for the day did show some significant movement from both sides to reach a tentative agreement on many open issues. Major improvements include:
- When the company works any temporary driver more than 50% of the time in a given quarter, two new drivers will be hired.
- Four new drivers will be hired upon ratification of the agreement.
- When a driver declines a helper, incentives will be increased at all levels as laid out in the contract currently.
The Union continues to focus on the issues most important to the entire membership, including:
- Annual wage increases
- Closing the wage gap for members at Springfield and Mount Vernon to move in line with those in Bolingbrook and Rockford
- Reducing the use of 5-by-8 workweeks
- Keeping depot drivers on their bids
The Union and the company are currently scheduling dates to resume bargaining for the next coming weeks.
Teamsters Local 710 represents more than 12,500 members across the Midwest and is an affiliate of Teamsters Joint Council 25, America’s premier labor union for Chicago, Illinois and northwest Indiana.