August 14, 2013: After 8 months without a contract, Teamsters and UNITE HERE members at Gate Gourmet rejected a tentative agreement by the lopsided margin of 2,179 No to 742 Yes, in yet another national Hoffa-administration contract which the members think is a stinker.
The number one issue is wages. Yet IBT Local 528 in Atlanta, which represents a large number of Teamsters, says they will not pursue wage increases beyond what's been proposed but they will bargain to get one more sick day!
Gate Gourmet Teamsters prepare food for airlines where workers haven't had a raise since 2011. Other issues include unaffordable healthcare costs, too much overtime, supervisor harassment, and winning back double-time pay on seniority dates and birthdays, a concession from the 2010 negotiations.
The company and the union have jointly filed for federal mediation.