Sysco workers celebrate after voting unanimously to ratify their first contract.

On Sunday, April 6, newly-organized members of Teamsters Local 117 employed at the Sysco distribution center in Kent, WA voted unanimously to ratify their first contract. The group of driver check-in associates, QA inspectors, inventory control and cycle counter associates, recoup specialists, and will call associates approved the new agreement which includes significant wage increases along with the addition of both the Teamsters pension and Teamsters medical plans. With their new health and welfare coverage, the workers will save hundreds of dollars a month in healthcare expenses.

The contract, which was negotiated by Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer and IBT Warehouse Division Representative, Paul Dascher, is an addendum to an existing collective bargaining agreement between a group of 275 drivers and warehouse workers and Sysco. The agreement grants the newly-organized members the same protections and economic benefits as all other Sysco Teamsters 117 members, including the same wage increases and job protections.

“Ratification of this contract allows this predominantly female workforce to benefit from the full pension rate and full health and welfare package with zero out-of-pocket costs,” Secretary-Treasurer Dascher said. “It is a phenomenal victory for this courageous group and for the warehouse industry as a whole. This win is an example of creating union density within represented shops, which is critical to the labor movement.”

In November last year, the 12 workers, who play a role in various aspects of the logistical operations at the Kent facility, voted unanimously to join Teamsters Local 117 citing the need for family wages, better healthcare, workplace protections, and retirement security.

“These healthcare and pension wins are huge for us,” said Krystal Miller-Parker, Shop Steward and inventory control associate at Sysco who was present at the vote with her five-year old son Ryder. “This contract will enable me to take care of my family in a time of economic uncertainty. This is what we were fighting for, and we stood united until we achieved what we deserve.”

In March, the group voted unanimously to authorize a strike sending a strong message to the company that they would not accept anything less than a fair contract. The larger group of Teamster drivers and warehouse workers at Sysco expressed unwavering solidarity with the workers.

“It took teamwork and the rest of Teamsters at Sysco standing in solidarity with us to get to this life-changing contract,” said Zach Barajas, who was initially brought on as a contract worker and now does driver check-in full-time at Sysco. “Joining Teamsters was the best decision we could have made.”

Teamsters Local 117 represents 17,000 workers across Washington State, including about 300 workers at the Sysco distribution center in Kent, including this new group and drivers and warehouse workers who ratified their contract last year.