BENSENVILLE, Ill. — More than 130 striking drivers at the US Foods distribution center here are getting support from fellow Teamsters around the country. Teamsters Local 705 is sending striking workers to other US Foods warehouses around the country in what they call an “extended picket line.” US Foods workers from California to New Jersey, Minnesota to Missouri have honored the picket lines, shutting down work for a day or two before the Local 705 pickets move on.
Strikers here told the Militant that the company’s warehouse workers in Bensenville, who are members of a separate Teamsters local, have honored Local 705’s picket lines and stayed home since the beginning of the strike. They also said US Foods has brought in workers from some of their nonunion centers to try to keep their Chicago-area operations going.
The drivers, who walked out Jan. 8, are fighting to defend their health care benefits. They also seek to block a move by US Foods bosses to be able to unilaterally designate any accident they choose as “serious” and fire the driver. In a letter to supporters of the strike, Local 705 says, “This isn’t about safety; it’s about exerting control over the drivers.”
US Foods is one of the largest food distributors to restaurants, health care and hospitality facilities, government operations and educational institutions in the country. It employs over 25,000 workers at 60 locations.