Local 727 Members Help Chicago Parking Meters Earn $500 Million in Profit
With the help of the nearly one hundred Local 727 bargaining unit members who work as Meter Operators, Meter Enforcement Agents, General Meter Maintenance Technicians, and in the Closure Department for operators LAZ Meters, LLC and Lincoln Security, respectively, the parking meter operation in Chicago has been a huge success. Chicago Parking Meters, the private company that holds the 75-year parking meter contract with the city of Chicago, currently operates the third largest street parking system in the U.S. with over 36,000 metered parking spaces. According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, by the end of 2019, the Company earned $500 million more than the $1.16 billion it paid the city of Chicago ten years ago to run the program. With the meter contract expiring June 30, 2022, the Union expects both Companies to share these profits with their employees and come to contract negotiations prepared to increase the current wage structure. Currently, both operators are offering an incentive ranging between $1 and $4 above scale to attract a full workforce – that money should be permanently allocated in the contract. Business agent Nicholas Micaletti is already getting a jump on the bargaining process. While on-site recently, he distributed contract demands forms during the Union’s 2nd quarter meeting. Nicholas regularly holds quarterly meter group meetings in tandem with a Local 727 Benefit Representative; the next quarterly meeting will be held in September.
“This astronomical profit is due in no small part to the hard work, day in and day out, of our Local 727 brothers and sisters,” said John Coli, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 727. “They are the face of the meter operation, responsible for monitoring Chicago’s 4,000 miles of streets and cover all of the city’s neighborhoods. Our members make sure the meter boxes, credit card readers, and machinery is running properly and ensure the streets are clear so every meter box is accessible for local businesses. Without these employees, the meter program would not work, and would certainly not have garnered the profits Chicago Parking Meters has collected so far. Negotiations will be here before we know it – let the operators be on notice that we expect them to acknowledge the part their employees have played in this success and come to the bargaining table prepared to show it.”
If you have any questions, please contact your Local 727 Business Representative, 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.
Category: Union News
