TEAMSTERS

LOCAL 727
BARGAINING UPDATE

SCI MEMBERS
Company Continues Bad Faith Bargaining
SCI management continued its history of bargaining in bad faith during the latest negotiation meeting with Teamsters Local 727 on Sept. 17. Management has not made any movement on the its 15 non-economic proposals since June 30, the day the previous contract for funeral directors and drivers expired. The proposals involve evisceration of many cornerstones of the decades-old agreement, including seniority, arbitration and right to assign language. These draconian proposals do not exist in any other SCI contract in Chicago or anywhere in the country, and management has failed to adequately explain or give good reason why they should be forced upon our bargaining unit, said John T. Coli, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727. SCI has made it clear from the beginning that these negotiations are about breaking the union, and each step of the way, they have more and more firmly reiterated that point. In a memo to the unions bargaining unit, the company wrote: We do not intend to modify the complete offer we gave you on August 6, 2013. The changes from the companys June 30 offer and their Aug. 6 offer were related to health and welfare and retirement benefits. SCI wants to discontinue participation in the unions Health & Welfare Fund and implement its company-wide health care. The company also amended its 401(k) proposal, effectively giving the Employer complete discretion to change the plan (matching percentage, etc) at any time.

SEPT. 17, 2013

Actuarial Analysis of SCI Benefit Proposals Reveals Staggering Economic Impact for Members

Representatives from an independent actuarial firm have estimated that the potential economic loss for SCI members based on the companys benefits proposals in some cases could be upwards of $1 million dollars over the course of their careers. Travis Smith and Jason Franken of Foster & Foster Actuaries and Consultants presented a comparison of current benefits to SCI benefit plans to the union and the company during Continues, Page 2

1300 W. Higgins Road, Suite 111 Park Ridge, IL 60068 (847) 696-7500 (847) 720-4984 fax TeamstersLocal727.org

TEAMSTERS LOCAL 727 John T. Coli, Secretary-Treasurer John Coli Jr., President

TEAMSTERS

LOCAL 727
BARGAINING UPDATE
continued from Page 1 the Sept. 17 negotiation meeting. The report included detailed analysis of retirement and health and welfare benefits. The results were staggering, Coli said. In a 30-year career, we could be talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars lost for each member. This is an incredibly serious matter. The union has requested more information from SCI management about its benefit plans in order to make the actuarial analysis as complete as possible. Once that information is obtained, the union will create individual reports for each SCI member based on their particular circumstances. This is the most important issue that our members have ever faced financially, and we owe it to them to get everything right, Coli said. To ask our members to make a decision without knowing how, exactly, they would be impacted as individuals does not make sense and is not fair. The actuarial report also demonstrated the

SCI MEMBERS
incredible health of the unions health and welfare and pension funds. For example, Franken a certified actuary with 16 years of experience said the Local 727 Pension Fund is one of the best and most well-funded plans Taft Hartley plans he consults for at Foster & Foster, a nationally renown firm. The union plan is about 90 percent funded, which is almost unheard of these days. Franken said. In 2008 when the market crashed, most funds took a huge hit, but the Local 727 Fund did not experience any of the pain that the other funds did.

SEPT. 17, 2013

Unemployment Update

Around 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, the Illinois Department of Employment Services (IDES) told the union that the money for the first wave of unemployment checks left the states bank. After weeks of frustration and contacting IDES every day, hopefully the state will resolve this soon, Coli said.

1300 W. Higgins Road, Suite 111 Park Ridge, IL 60068 (847) 696-7500 (847) 720-4984 fax TeamstersLocal727.org

TEAMSTERS LOCAL 727 John T. Coli, Secretary-Treasurer John Coli Jr., President