Coca-Cola Stubbornly Sticks to Unreasonable Proposals, Stalls With One Day Left to Negotiate

For the seventh consecutive bargaining session, Coca-Cola has wasted the time of the Teamsters Local 727 Bargaining Committee by refusing to budge from its unreasonable contract proposals.

During another marathon 13-hour meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 18, Local 727 watched as management sat on its hands and resubmitted contract offers that members have explicitly made clear are unpalatable.

Despite the union’s best efforts to introduce equitable proposals that afford workers strong, yet standard workplace protections, Coca-Cola has been altogether unwilling to move on important issues.

“The proposals that are most important to its own employees are the ones Coca-Cola rejects, hour-after-hour,” said John Coli Jr., President of Local 727. “The only thing management is willing to move on is seeing how much time they can possibly waste. The company is trying hard to force members to back away from the rights they deserve.”

Coca-Cola is stubbornly sticking to its intention to negotiate entirely separate agreements for roughly 300 production and warehouse Teamsters and another for just 10 transport drivers. The proposal goes hand-in-hand with management’s rejection of picket line protections. Without such rights for members, Coca-Cola would be able to force division among members and replace workers in all classifications.

The company’s other unfair proposals still on the bargaining table include:
• Workweek schedules of any 4 or 5 days for transport drivers and production workers
• No access to a comprehensive grievance procedure, standard in all other agreements negotiated by Local 727
• Changes to FMLA policy to force workers to use their vacation time
• Moving from weekly to bi-weekly payrolls
• Reduced seniority rights
• Muddling of otherwise clearly defined job classifications

Coca-Cola still has not presented an economics proposal to the union for wages and benefits, despite the fact that the final scheduled day for negotiations is Friday, Nov. 20. The retroactivity agreement to members’ current contract expires Dec. 1.

Members will be kept up-to-date on any and all changes as negotiations continue or the scheduling of any future sessions.

Anyone with questions should contact agent Mike DeGard at (847) 696-7500 or [email protected].

Category: BEVERAGE, Union News