BNA Daily Labor Report: Teamsters at Kentucky Warehouse OK Pacts Including Job Security, Ending Two-Day Strike

April 24, 2007: International Brotherhood of Teamsters members ratified new agreements with two new operators of a massive warehouse and distribution center in Louisville, Ky., ending a two-day strike April 19.

Job security for nearly 700 workers represented by IBT Local 89 were the key to ending the strike, Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman told BNA April 24.

The strike was called when negotiations broke down with two new entities that had assumed control of the facility from the previous operator, Kroger Co., Zuckerman said. The new operators--Transervice Logistics and Zenith Logistics--signed new contracts April 18-19, which were supplemented by a memorandum of understanding between Local 89 and Kroger, according to Zuckerman.

The Transervice and Zenith agreements were ratified by union members late April 18 and early April 19, with normal work resuming early April 19, Zuckerman said (77 DLR A-12, 4/23/07). The Transervice agreement covering drivers and mechanics passed by a vote of 163-0, while the Zenith warehouse agreement passed 234-34. Zuckerman estimated that there are a total of about 205 drivers and mechanics, and a total of about 450 warehouse workers at the facility.

The new agreements were effective immediately upon ratification and will remain in effect until Jan. 31, 2013.

Both companies provided guarantees that jobs held by IBT-represented workers would not be outsourced to nonunion companies during the life of the agreement, Zuckerman said. The Kroger memorandum provides a similar guarantee, he said.

Telephone calls to Kroger, Zenith Logistics, and Transervice seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Other features of the agreement provide for wage increases consistent with the Kroger Midwest master warehouse contract, which had covered the Teamsters-represented workers until the new Transervice and Zenith agreements were ratified, Zuckerman said. The master contract expires Sept. 10, 2011, he said.

In addition, wage increases of 65 cents per hour will be paid in each of the last two years of the Transervice and Zenith contracts, Zuckerman said.

Current average wages at the 750,000 square foot warehousing and distribution complex are about $16 per hour, Zuckerman said. Newly hired employees make less under a two-tier wage system in effect. The highest contractual rate is $18.50 per hour, he said.

A major change under the new contract is that IBT-represented workers will now have health insurance coverage under the Teamsters' Central States Health and Welfare Fund. Previously, they had been covered under a Kroger-sponsored health plan that required the employees to make copayments that are not required under the Central States plan.

Pension arrangements are unchanged under the new agreements, with employees continuing to be participants in the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund, Zuckerman said.