Cook County Forest Preserves Teamsters approve new contract after 2-week strike

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday, September 2, Teamsters Local 700 voted to approve a two-year contract with the Forest Preserves of Cook County. The final vote was a close 88 to 82. The strike lasted for two weeks before the administration gave into some of the demands of the workers.

The strike had come after a year of failed negotiations. Rank-and-file workers organized their own committee, Forest Preserves Teamsters United, which led the bargaining unit in voting down four tentative agreements. After two periods of contract extensions, the workers voted to strike. It was the first time the workers at the forest preserves had ever gone on strike. Many had never attended a picket line before. Despite the lack of experience, the workers were steadfast, frequently marching through the county building in downtown Chicago as a show of force.

The final contract has several improvements won by the strike. Overtime on the sixth and seventh day is now guaranteed. The mandatory weekend work, widely despised by resource management workers, will be reduced by 50%. Seniority will be respected for bidding on scheduling in landscape maintenance. However, no movement was made on the wage schedule.

Brannon Curtis-Wittenberg, a senior resource technician with the Forest Preserves, said the workers were “asking for fair wages compared to non-union employees. Our current step raises are about a tenth of what the non-union makes.”

For example, under the current wage schedule, a laborer in landscape maintenance receives just $1.78 in raises over nine years, with some annual step increases as small as 12 cents an hour. This is despite the recent $4.8 million budget increase due to a new allocation of tax money to the Forest Preserves.

Cal Filkin, a resource technician, commented on the main victory of the strike, saying, “Even if we didn’t achieve the economic changes to the contract that we needed, we’re not going back to work, tail between our legs. I believe the most consequential achievement is the changes we’ve affected in our members through this struggle: we self-organized across 20 work locations; we’ve empowered ourselves to stand up and fight; and we’ve proved to ourselves that we can fight and we can win. Nine months ago, we had none of that. Now, heading back into negotiations next year, we have a very credible strike threat.”

David Yokley, who works as a landscaper, said there was still work to do. “Going forward, we got a few small concessions, but gains nonetheless. But this is just the beginning. Negotiations begin soon, so we don’t have a lot of time to take a break. We’re mobilizing right now, keeping people energized.”

When asked what his message to other union members was, Curtis-Wittenberg said, “Stay strong, talk to your coworkers. If your union is not as organized as you would like it to be, make it organized. It is your union.”

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