Gary-based Teamsters Local 142 has reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the Four County Highway Group to end the union's 18-day strike against the group's heavy machinery and highway members.
The ratification vote will be held next week, although a date wasn't available at press time.
As a sign of good faith, all picketing against most group members ... has ended, according to a news release issued Friday by Local 142 President Mitch Sawochka and Secretary-Treasurer Richard Knipp. The picketing has ended subject to ratification by the union's membership.
The local also has contacted all of the Four County Highway Group's members that perform building work not covered by the group asking them to sign a building contract, the news release said.
"We are still on strike against their building work only," the release said. "We are also still on strike against a number of independents who are neither signatory to the Four County Highway Contractors Group or the NWI Contractors Association's collective bargaining agreement."
Neither Sawochka nor Knipp was available for comment Friday.
On Monday, local Teamsters voted down a proposed contract governing highway work in Northwest Indiana. Union members voted 266-43 against the tentative contract. At the time, Knipp said members were unhappy with "the vision of the contract."
More than 300 truck drivers with the Teamsters Local 142 went on strike at 12:01 a.m. June 8 against the group of 28 highway, bridge and construction contractors after voting down a proposed new two-year contract.
A strike authorization vote taken by Teamsters on June 7 was 283 in favor of the strike and 34 against.
In a move of solidarity, union members declined to cross picket lines of certain contractors after Portage-based Ironworkers Local 395 went on strike June 1.
The ripple effect of the Teamsters strike was felt across Northwest Indiana as construction projects for municipalities, schools and highway stood idle. Among the projects affected was construction on Interstate 65, the Borman Expressway, the Indiana Toll Road, U.S. 41 in Hammond, Broad Street in Griffith and U.S. 20 and Ind. 149 in Burns Harbor as well as a host of other local paving projects.
Four years ago, the Teamsters called a strike against the NWI Contractors Association, but it ended when a deal was struck within 48 hours.
Teamsters Local 142 has about 4,000 members and represents employees in warehousing, trucking, manufacturing, construction, waste processing and scrap metal processing and workers at municipal agencies.
