Local 727 Intervention Results in Pepsi Hiring Union Labor for On-Site Demolition Work
Last week, Teamsters Local 727 members employed by Pepsi Beverages Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, informed the Union that members of LiUNA Laborers Local 225 had erected a picket outside of the Company’s 51st Street location to protest a non-union contractor hired by Pepsi to demolish an unused building on the property. Immediately after being informed of the situation, Local 727 sprang into action.
Secretary-Treasurer John Coli, Jr. contacted Pepsi to remind the Company that Article I of the collective bargaining agreement gives Local 727 members the right to “refuse to go through a primary picket line of any union…if the Company involved is not a parent, subsidiary and/or affiliate of Pepsi Beverages Company.” Secretary-Treasurer Coli also informed Pepsi management that Local 727 would urge members to respect Local 225’s picket line should the Company continue to use non-union workers.
Within a few hours of Secretary-Treasurer Coli’s call, the issue was resolved.
“Page 1 of the Pepsi contract is clear—if Pepsi doesn’t use a union crew, our members don’t have to cross,” said Coli. “I’m glad that Pepsi saw the error in its ways and chose to do the right thing and hire union workers. I hope management will bring that same wise approach to the bargaining table.”
Local 727 and Pepsi are set to begin negotiating a new CBA covering both inside and outside employees at the Company’s two Chicago, Elk Grove, and Kankakee locations next month. The current contract is set to expire on April 28, 2020.
Members with questions should contact Lead Business Representative Zach Frankenbach (Elk Grove & 51st Street) at (847) 696-7500 or [email protected], or Business Representative Mike DeGard (Kankakee & 35th Street) 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 grievance(s), or as a waiver of any rights, arguments, or defenses under any contract, collective bargaining agreement, or applicable law. The union does not forfeit its right to make any and all supplemental arguments.
