Teamsters reject Giant Eagle subsidiary contract
Union Leaders won't comment, but rank and file employees told 21 News that the company is trying to build a new warehouse, at their expense.
About 160 members of Local 377 met behind closed doors, where union members say they voted on a contract extension at the request of the company months before their current contract expires.
"The building in Austintown is partially sinking in a certain area, they offered to build us a new warehouse which was you know ideal and good thing for us. But they don't want to just build it for us they basically want to take enough from us to where we are paying for like half of this warehouse," said Patrick Turner of the Teamsters Local #377.
Union members say one concession would require changing their pension plan to a 401 K plan. And although they would see a wage increase, union members say it's not as high as they've received in the past.
A spokesperson for Giant Eagle, Rob Borella, outlined that contract offers from the company added several benefits for employees.
"The current Tamarkin Company retail support center for frozen foods was constructed in 1968. The operations of Giant Eagle, Inc. now span 426 retail locations across four states, with additional expansion coming in 2015. The final offer from the Company, which included increased wages, maintained health benefits and added a generous 401K plan, was rejected by the union members two times," said Borella
A few weeks ago, union members say they overwhelmingly rejected the company's offer. But this time, it failed by only six votes. Union members say the company had made it clear, that if the proposal wasn't approved they'd consider building a new warehouse elsewhere or contract with a third party.
Representatives from Giant Eagle said they will continue to look for options for the Tamarkin distribution center.
"For these reasons and others, the Company is actively pursuing all options for distribution of its frozen food products, including partnering with a third party to construct a new state-of-the-art distribution center in either Ohio or Pennsylvania," said Borella.
Source: wfmj.com
