Teamsters at Auto Warehousing are gearing up for a fight. In contract negotiations, the company has walked away from the bargaining table on multiple occasions and refused to bargain in good faith.

“The first negotiation session lasted exactly 67 minutes before they decided they were done for the day,” said Randy Chronister, a nine-year Teamster Brother who serves on the union bargaining committee.

The last time the committee met with the company, on Friday June 2, company negotiators abruptly walked out on the union.

“Management has been obstructionist from the start. They do not appear to want to negotiate,” said Brother Chronister.

"We have a lot of upset sisters and brothers who work there."

In response to the company’s failure to bargain, the union committee, led by Local 117 Vice President Marcus Williams, quickly organized a meeting for the following Monday.

At that meeting, nearly a hundred of our Teamster Sisters and Brothers packed the Teamsters hall in Tacoma and overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike.

“Marcus detailed the issues we’ve been having during negotiations,” Brother Chronister said. “We have a lot of upset sisters and brothers who work there.  We don’t feel like management is taking us seriously.”

An overwhelming strike vote sends a powerful message to the company that they need to treat members with respect and bargain a contract in good faith that members can ratify.

“I’ve reached out to FMCS to see if a federal mediator can assist in the process,” Brother Williams said. “We’re hopeful that the company will return to the table with a more conciliatory approach. If that is not the case, members have indicated that they are ready to take action.”

Teamsters who work at Auto Warehousing are responsible for taking new vehicles and adding accessories to them before they get shipped out to the dealerships.  The group of 120 Teamsters prepares thousands of vehicles every month.