Local 727 and GLCCD to Resume Negotiations for New CBAs Tomorrow
Teamsters Local 727 and Great Lakes Coca-Cola Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Reyes Holdings, are scheduled to resume negotiations tomorrow morning, Tuesday, March 26th. Tomorrow’s bargaining session will be the 5th meeting between the parties since negotiations opened on February 21st.
The Local 727 bargaining committee opened negotiations in February by presenting GLCCD with a comprehensive contract proposal. The Union’s proposal included: a single contract for all bargaining unit members, inclusion of GLCCD workers in the Teamsters Local 727 Health and Welfare Fund, fair scheduling procedures, the elimination of the mix mode distribution system, and language that limits management’s ability to alter drivers’ routes.
Despite having 4 bargaining sessions in which to respond, GLCCD has thus far made no substantive movement and presented no real counterproposals to the Union’s contract proposals. GLCCD’s inaction has delayed the progress of negotiations and prevented the parties from reaching a fair agreement.
At GLCCD’s insistence, the parties have limited the discussions of each bargaining session and focused only upon certain job classifications each day. Not only has this approach disturbed the momentum of negotiations, but it has also prevented GLCCD from responding to additional issues and proposals brought forward by the Union bargaining committee in subsequent meetings. It seems that GLCCD’s request for these limited conversations was just a delay tactic as it ultimately rejected the Union’s contract proposals, an action the Company could have taken without limiting each day’s discussions.
“GLCCD has had more than a week since our last bargaining session to review all of Local 727’s proposals. We expect the Company to arrive to negotiations tomorrow prepared to negotiate and ready to reach an agreement,” said John Coli, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727. “We have little more than a month left before the current contracts expire. It’s long past time GLCCD got serious about these negotiations.”
Members with questions should contact Local 727 Business Representative Caleen Carter-Patton at (847) 696-7500 or [email protected].
Nothing in this article should be read as the union’s waiver of any legal argument, position or additional grievance. The union does not forfeit its right to make any and all supplemental arguments.
