Thousands of Teamsters employed by the State of Illinois have reached a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the state.
“The state previously announced an agreement with Teamsters Local 700, which covered 300 state workers in Cook County. Today’s announcement covers Teamsters throughout the state and increases the number of covered employees to 4,600,” said an August 31, 2015, statement from Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s office.
The new agreement includes a four-year wage freeze, continuation of a 40-hour work week, an a new incentive program to reward workers for cost-saving measures and meeting or exceeding performance metrics.
Teamsters members will continue to get their current level of health care benefits for themselves and their dependents; they agreed to a reduction in the payout for accumulated unused vacation from 75 days down to 45 days for employees hired after January 1, 2016.
The 500 members of Teamsters Local 700 Master Sergeants and Cook County highway maintainers ratified the new agreement, Rauner’s statement said. The remaining 4,100 members of Teamsters Local 330 (suburban group), Teamsters Local 916 (Protech), and the Teamsters Downstate Illinois State Employee Negotiating Committee, had tentative agreements signed and members were expected to hold ratification votes in the next few weeks, the statement said.
