Teamsters take pay cut, return to LV concrete jobs

Grace Leong

Tuesday, June 20, 2000 | 11:22 a.m.

A 17-day lock-out of Teamsters Union truck drivers by two big Las Vegas concrete producers ended with some 300 drivers returning to work Monday and accepting a $1.52 an hour rollback in wages.

The union drivers were locked out of their jobs at all six of Nevada Ready Mix and CSR's yards on June 1 after the union and two companies failed to agree on a new labor contract by a May 31 deadline. The two companies had initially wanted a $2 an hour cutback and other modifications, but the Teamsters repeatedly rejected their proposals.

The two companies' modified proposal of a $1.52 rollback and other changes were ratified Saturday by the Teamsters by a vote of 195-78. Under the new three-year contract, the Teamster wages were cut to $17.50 an hour from $19.02.

Their total salary and benefits package was reduced to $25.64 an hour from $27.16. This includes a $5.32 an hour pension and health and welfare package and $2.82 in unemployment, FICA and medicare benefits package, said Ray Brown, the two companies spokesman.

"We're not happy with the $1.50 pay cut across-the-board, but we all felt it was best to get back to work," said Jim Wilkerson, the Teamsters' spokesman. "We're not absolutely happy with it but we can live with it. The pay cut will mean a loss of about $350-$400 a month for the workers."

"The seniority clauses were kept. That means senior people will get first shot at the first 40 hours of all contracts. Double time pay for holidays and double time pay for Sundays were kept. Previously, the employers' offer was for time and a half pay," he said.

"Health and welfare benefits were cleaned up too. Originally, the contract proposed an employee has to work 86 hours before getting health and welfare benefits. Now all they have to do is work one hour and they can get it," Wilkerson said.

"To an extent, both sides walked away with a bit of a black eye," said Ray Brown, the two companies' spokesman. "There was a lot of compromise. The $1.52 rollback helps because we'll be able to get more work now, but it's not enough for us to regain our competitive edge."

The contract also contains a salary renegotiation clause that allows the drivers' wage package to be renegotiated after 18 months. Originally, the clause was designed such that if the Teamsters were successful at organizing the non-union shops and these shops raised their salaries and benefit packages at or above market rates, then the Teamsters could renegotiate for higher wages.

"But now, this is also conditioned on the market rate at which the union and non-union shops are paying their employees," Brown said. "Even if the union doesn't organize the non-union shops, if salaries shoot up suddenly, the union has a right to ask for a salary increase."

Wilkerson said efforts are now under way to organize the seven to eight non-union shops in the Las Vegas Valley. "We've hired two organizers to organize the ready mix industry, and we're looking at organizing about 1,500 workers."