Chicago-area auto mechanics are not going back to the service bays any time soon -- unless they receive a new contract.
The mechanics are in their second week on strike due to a failed attempt at reaching consensus with the union on a new four-year labor contract, leaving dealerships to shut down services.
“They are prepared to stay out as long as it takes to get an agreeable contract,” Ronnie Gonzalez, spokesperson for Automobile Mechanics Local 701 in Carol Stream, told the Chicago Tribune. “Hopefully, the bargaining process will prevail, and we’ll reach an agreement in a reasonable amount of time.”
Over 800 auto mechanics have been at the picket lines, leaving 56 dealerships without enough employees to continue offering services, according to the Chicago Tribune. The picketers started to raise their demands after the old labor contract expired and the union rebuffed a proposal from the bargaining arm of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, the New Car Dealer Committee.
Issues such as guaranteed base pay for mechanics and dealership contributions to the union’s health and welfare fund are all being negotiated. Almost half of the 120 Chicago-area new-car dealerships employing union mechanics broke ranks to negotiate with Local 701 on their own, which is furthering the dispute, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The last Chicago auto mechanics' strike in 2017 lasted for more than seven weeks before a deal was signed.
Alerts Sign-up