DULUTH, Minn. — St. Louis County plow drivers have moved to strike, according to Teamsters Local 320 — the union that represents the drivers.
Members of the Local 320 voted 117-8 on Saturday to reject the county's contract offer, citing issues over healthcare and sick leave, according to the Associated Press.
According to a press release from Teamsters Local 320, the union filed its intent to strike with the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) Wednesday after the labor agreement between the union and the county expired.
“The Union has followed the protocol for public workers to engage in a legal work stoppage,” Erik Skoog, Teamster Business Agent and chief negotiator for the county employees said in the statement. “The Union and County participated in mediation for the 45 days required.”
Under the statute, the two parties are now in a 10-day "cooling off" period before the BMS will call them together for a final mediation session. If no agreement is made, then the drivers can strike at any time. According to the release, an internal union process will determine when employees will begin a work stoppage.
St. Louis County officials released the following statement:
We are aware that the Teamsters have communicated their notice of intent to strike. This triggers a mandatory minimum 10-day cooling off period during which we anticipate additional mediation session(s).
St. Louis County remains committed to the bargaining process, as we have been all along. The Teamsters left the mediation process more than two weeks ago without providing a counter offer for consideration and further discussion. Since then, we have made ourselves available for additional mediation sessions.
Our intent has been and will continue to be to negotiate in good faith with the Teamsters and all our bargaining units, some of which have already agreed to contract terms for 2020-22. The 168 employees represented by the Teamsters are our valued employees and we recognize the tremendous service they provide to the citizens of St. Louis County.
In the interim, St. Louis County has been actively engaged in contingency planning to ensure continuity of services and public safety. Our citizens should be assured that in the event of a strike, the County will continue to plow roads, using supervisors and other staff who are licensed and qualified to plow.
The notice of intent to strike means that the Bureau of Mediation Services will again be engaged in additional mediation efforts during this cooling off period. So we remain hopeful that a strike can be averted and a contract agreement will be successfully reached that is fair to our employees and fair to our taxpayers.
Teamsters Local 320 represents 180 St. Louis County employees at the Department of Public Works.
