Local 727 and Dr Pepper Reach Multiple Tentative Agreements, Close to Wrapping Negotiations on Non-Economic Issues
After a straight week of negotiations, Teamsters Local 727 and the American Bottling Company, a subsidiary of Keurig Dr Pepper, have reached tentative agreements on nearly all non-economic matters, including contract language related to team leads and the workweek.
During this week’s final bargaining session, the Local 727 bargaining committee successfully secured a tentative agreement on new contract language which designates team leads as their own classification. The tentatively agreed language would also allow leads to retain their seniority, for transfer-related purposes, for only one year after the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement. However, the tentative agreement states that a lead who is involuntarily transferred will retain his or her seniority in perpetuity.
Earlier today, Dr Pepper management withdrew its proposal to expand the workweek as a result of the Union’s firm refusal to accept any such changes. Instead, the parties tentatively agreed to retain all current contract language related to the workweek.
Local 727 also presented the Company with yet another proposal regarding sales warehouse productivity and efficiency standards. The Union has proposed a method of recourse through which Local 727 may challenge the standards should they become unachievable in the future. In the last meeting of the day, Dr Pepper gave a verbal proposal that would change the sales warehouse productivity and efficiency standards temporarily; however, the altered standards would still not be based on any real data or analysis of the Dr Pepper facility itself.
The Union expects to reach an agreement on remaining non-economic issues and begin bargaining over economics when the parties resume negotiations on Thursday, April 4th.
“The Local 727 bargaining committee expects Dr Pepper to arrive to our next bargaining session prepared with an economic proposal that is in-line with Management’s recent statements regarding how ‘good’ business is,” said John Coli, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727. “We expect an economic proposal that recognizes our members’ hard work and contributions to the Company.”
Members with questions should contact 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.
Category: BEVERAGE
