Although it went largely unreported, hundreds of Teamsters who work for the Teamsters Central States office in Illinois went out on strike last month.
Teamster members who work for the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund and its related benefit fund, TeamCare, went out on strike last month for two days “fighting concessionary demands from our union health and pension fund.”
The workers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 743, went out on strike after voting to reject “substandard deals” five times, reported the Teamsters for a Democratic Union.
The workers’ employer, the Central States Pension Fund and TeamCare, is governed by a board of trustees: half appointed by employer groups, and half appointed by the Teamsters.
Prior to the strike, the 400 Teamsters-represented workers were allegedly threatened by Thomas Nyhan, the administrator of both union funds.
According to the Teamsters for a Democratic Union, Nyhan reportedly sent this message via email to the bargaining unit:
“The Board of Trustees is fully prepared to undergo a strike if that is what is necessary to achieve a reasonable agreement. In fact, the Board has instructed me to take all measures that are necessary to ensure the continued operations and security of the Funds during a strike, including the disabling of bargaining unit employee ID badges. This means you will not be able to enter the parking garage or the building floors until a decision is made by the Trustees about whether or under what circumstances employees who choose to return to work will be permitted to do so.”
After two days on strike, the union members voted 259-84 to approve a “recycled contract offer that included retro pay,” noted TDU.
