Local 727 Members at Hawthorne Race Course Make Opening Day a Success
On Friday, September 23rd, Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, IL opened its Fall Thoroughbred Horse Racing meet. As always, Teamsters Local 727 members at the Starting Gate and Valets in the Jockeys’ room contributed to the track’s success on opening day.
Local 727 race track members were previously able to work for ten months of the year between Arlington Park and Hawthorne but that changed when Arlington Park (Churchill Downs Inc) walked away from Illinois Horse Racing and sold their property to the Chicago Bears. This has made 2022 a transitional year for Thoroughbred racing in Illinois as Hawthorne runs both Harness and Thoroughbred racing at the same track. Hawthorne has expressed a long-term goal of moving Harness racing to its own facility in the south suburbs which would allow them to focus solely on year-round thoroughbred racing; unfortunately, until that happens there will be less work available for these hard-working and dedicated Teamsters members.
The current contract expires on December 31, 2022. The Union’s Bargaining Committee will sit down with Hawthorne management on Friday, October 21st to commence negotiations and make an opening offer. The Union will keep members updated on the status of negotiations. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Business Agent Nicholas Micaletti 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.
Teamsters Local 727 represents 10,000 members throughout the Chicago area across a multitude of industries, from pharmacists to zookeepers, funeral directors to parking industry workers.
Category: Union News
