Coca-Cola Strike Over After Union Agrees to Deal

ALSIP, IL - Everything is apple trees, honey bees and snow white turtle doves between Coca-Cola and Teamsters Local 727 after an agreement reached Tuesday night.

Nearly a month-long strike by Coca-Cola workers at Chicagoland plants in Niles and Alsip is over after the union and Atlanta-based beverage giant reached a three-year contract, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The more than 300 workers represented by the union went on strike on Dec. 3, one week after Local 727 filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board that Coke was negotiating in bad faith and that some managers were spotted walking around the plant with baseball bats.

Those charges were dropped following the new agreement, in which the union says “will translate to significant out-of-pocket cost savings for workers.”

So, everyone is happy.

According to the Tribune, the tentative pact includes transferring members to a new health and welfare plan previously available to only Coke management. The proposal includes annual wage increases and employer-matched 401(k) contributions.

“These hardworking men and women walked the picket line for 27 days fighting for respect and a fair contract from their employer, and they’ve achieved both,” said John Coli, secretary-treasurer of Local 727. “Our members should be extremely proud of themselves for taking a stand to change the culture at Coca-Cola. This tentative agreement is a strong step forward for hundreds of workers whose collective demand for respect has been heard loud and clear by their employer.”

Raises will come to workers in the form of 3 percent the first year and 2.5 percent in the second and third years. The employees’ health care premiums will also be reduced by nearly $7 a week for individual coverage and more than $40 a week for plans that include an unlimited amount of children.

more via the Chicago Tribune