Chicago parking workers strike as they seek a new contract

Welcome back. 9.55 now on your Tuesday morning. Hundreds of Chicago parking workers are walking off the job today as they fight for a new contract. Brian Jackson live at Chicago O'Hare Airport. Brian, what are they asking for and how could this impact travelers? Well, we are going to get to that this morning, Natalie. This strike involves some of the biggest parking operators across Chicagoland. The union says that its members, they've been pushed to the picket lines by unfair labor practices. Now, on the other side of this, the company said that they put a generous offer on the table. We are going to hear right now from Kayleen Carter from Teamsters Local 727. Thanks so much for your time this morning. Good morning. Thank you. I want to start with what was the final straw that led to these 1,200 workers walking off the job? Sure. The union has over 20 ULPs filed against the various companies, including bad faith bargaining, surveillance, failure to provide information. We met Friday late into the night. At that point, they gave the last, best and final offer, which just wasn't enough. And so the members voted to go on strike. One of the things that you guys say is that you're accusing them of unfair labor practices. Could you explain in further detail on some of the things that you're accusing them of? Sure. The union is saying, and they are not coming to the table and bargaining in good faith. So their last, best, and final offer had an unlawful proposal in it. Further, they've had management surveilling members, which is against the law. They've refused to provide information that's needed for negotiations and to resolve grievances. All in all, they've been acting very badly at the table. The parking company said that they're offering a 27% increase in wages and benefits over five years. Why is that not good enough? Sure. I mean, I think the company keeps really hammering that down and saying it's a historical offer too. Particularly year one, they're saying that 325 is historical. I think what's important for the public to know is it's not the wages they're offering. That's a bucket for everything. So it's wages and benefits. So out of that bucket has to come health and welfare, legal and education, and their pension. As you know, everything has skyrocketed, including the cost of healthcare. Healthcare is up 10% for these members. And currently, the union's health and welfare fund is subsidizing the companies. These members' healthcare It actually costs more than the companies are paying for it. One thing we have not been able to confirm is just how many garages and parking lots across Chicago are going to be impacted by the strike. Could you provide any details on that? Sure. I mean, it's very fluid, and we're kind of changing every minute, but almost 200 parking locations across the city could be affected, including major places like Navy Pier, McCormick Place, basically any hotel you park downtown, both airports. And we have about 1,200 workers striking so far. What is it going to ultimately take for them to return to the job? Sure. I've been on the phone off and on with them today. You know, whenever they want. They want to come to the table and bargain in good faith and offer fair and equitable wages and benefits that these members deserve. They're ready to go back. All right, Kayleen. Thanks so much for your time. Thank you so much. All right. That is the latest live here at O'Hare. Again, this strike for Teamsters Local 727 includes about 1,200 workers, and we'll be waiting to see if they can get the response that they're looking for so that everybody can return to the job. Reporting live at O'Hare this morning, I'm Brian Jackson, for Fox Chicago. Back to you guys. Yeah, I may have to be a little patient on some of these parking garages, right? Because they're obviously on the picket line. Brian, thank you so much for that. We've got more Good Day Chicago as the show rolls ahead. Stay with us. We'll be right back.