Teamsters Local 50 win gains as strike ends against concrete companies

By CARL GREEN

Correspondent

Swansea, IL – The Teamsters Local 50 strike against two jointly owned concrete companies in southern Illinois turned out to be a short one that ended successfully for the workers.

About 60 concrete workers went on strike June 21 against the 14 plants of Quad County Ready Mix and Clinton County Materials, and a new contract agreement was ratified on June 26.

The union won on these issues:

• Workers at four of the Quad County plants who have previously not been represented by the union will be able to conduct NLRB elections to win representation.
• Health insurance language that could have allowed huge cost increases was replaced with much-improved terms.
• The workers’ signing bonus was increased.
• The workers who went on strike lacking representation will receive full reinstatement.

About 35 workers are employed at the eight Ready Mix plants. Another 25 are at the six Clinton County Materials plants.

The employees have been working on an expired contract for about a year, said Mitzi Brigman, a consultant working with Local 50 after retiring in 2012 from the National Labor Relations Board staff.

“The members finally rallied one another and stood up for themselves,” she said. “Now they know there will not be any crazy increases.”

The four Ready Mix plants where workers are seeking to be represented by the union are in Swansea, Marissa, Benton and Carbondale.