Skyway Toll Collectors Poised for Labor Day Weekend Strike

Photo: Teamsters Local 727 members prepare signs for a possible strike that could begin Labor Day weekend. | Teamsters Local 727

Labor Day weekend traffic could come to a grinding halt if Chicago Skyway toll collectors make good on a threat to go on strike.

Members of the toll collectors’ union Teamsters Local 727 are poised to take a strike vote on Wednesday because contract negotiations with Skyway Concession Company have stalled. Should the toll collectors vote to walk off the job, a strike could begin this Labor Day weekend.

“We sincerely hope management comes to its senses, but we feel it is our civic duty to warn the public of this possible labor dispute,” Teamster Local 727 President John Coli Jr. said in a written statement. “To show support for these workers, we ask that drivers avoid the Skyway in the event of a strike.”

Local 727 representatives have already begun strike preparations, such as assembling picket signs, creating banners and gathering support from Teamsters across Illinois and northwest Indiana. The union is also warning the public that a labor dispute could cause excessive delays on the Chicago Skyway as people head out of town for the holiday weekend.

The toll collectors’ current three-year contract was set to expire July 3, but the Teamsters agreed on a two-month extension. A final negotiation was planned for Aug. 31, the day the extension expires. The union says it is fighting for living wages and benefits.

According to the Teamsters, Skyway Concession Company has increased tolls on the 7.8-mile connection between Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway and the Indiana Toll Road twice in the last two years, but has not hired more full-time workers. The company has been operating the Chicago Skyway since 2005 under 99-year lease worth $1.83 billion.

The company also allegedly refuses to create more full-time toll collector positions. All but five of the Skyway’s 30 toll collectors are part time, who work fewer than 30 hours a week and without benefits.

The union claims that the company continues to hire temporary workers throughout the year and has demanded to have unfettered rights to hire temporary employees.

Most of the toll collectors are single moms who earn “meager wages” of $11 an hour and work without adequate health insurance, Coti said.

“What’s more, this greedy company is skirting its responsibilities to provide health insurance under the Affordable Care Act by forcibly keeping long-time employees at part-time status. It’s truly despicable,” he added.

Coti said “the ball is in management’s court.

“The company can either do the right thing and come together to reach a fair agreement, or it can force our members out on the picket line to fight for the wages, benefits and working conditions they deserve.”