At a meeting Sunday, Aug. 3, Republic employees voted to continue their five-week strike by a vote of 93% to stay on strike.
Tom Mari, president of Teamsters Local Union No. 25, explained the process thus far in negotiations and went over the open issues including wages, health insurance and lack of amnesty.
Mari told the impressive turnout, “Republic has refused to meet with us for more than 15 days and is disrespecting all of you because they refuse to bring your wages and benefits up to the standards that we established with Capitol and Star.”
Milton DePina, field representative for Local 25, went over the company’s July 18 offer in detail, and two representatives from the Negotiating Committee, Joe D’Angelo and Tonni Landaverde, expressed their strong feelings about Republic’s refusal to negotiate in good faith with Local 25.
The Republic employees were told about Republic’s repeated unsuccessful efforts to get an injunction from the federal courts. The Republic employees then voted by secret ballot to reject Republic’s last offer and to continue their strike.
“The decision to stay on strike carried by 93%. It was a fantastic display of commitment after five weeks of the strike. In fact, a larger percentage of employees voted to continue the strike today than voted to strike on July 1,” Mari said.
Mari added, “Maybe now the company will realize that it’s not just the negotiating committee making these proposals for better wages and more comprehensive health insurance. The vote this morning of overwhelming support to continue the strike will be heard in Phoenix. As I promised the employees, Local 25 will continue the strike until Republic matches what our members already enjoy with Capitol and Star.”
