(GRUNDY COUNTY, Ill.) – On Feb. 1, 2017, Teamsters Local 700 filed an unfair labor practice with the Illinois Labor Relations Board against the Grundy County Sheriff and Grundy County (“Employer”) after the Employer stopped providing health insurance for the Grundy County sergeants while the parties are trying to negotiate a new contract.

The current contract covering the sergeants expired on Nov. 30, 2015. The union gave notice to the Employer of its demand to bargain a new agreement on behalf of the sergeants on Sept. 3, 2015.

Since that time, the union has offered five contract proposals to the employer, all of which have been rejected. Over the past year, the union requested multiple bargaining sessions that went ignored.

The union was forced into mediation due to the lack of a response to bargain from the Sheriff’s Office, and sessions are scheduled to begin on Feb. 15.

“The Sheriff has been holding up negotiations for over a year and the fact that he doesn’t even want to support his own people is deplorable,” said Becky Strzechowski, Teamsters Local 700 President. “These are law enforcement officers that face dangerous situations every day and put their lives on the line to keep the citizens of Grundy County safe. The Sheriff needs to stop engaging in bad faith bargaining and give the Grundy County sergeants the respect they deserve.”

Union representatives will be picketing in front of the Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Feb. 7 starting in the early morning hours.

“We want to send a clear message to this Sheriff that we will not back down when it comes to negotiating a fair contract for our hardworking members,” Strzechowski said.

Teamsters Local 700 represents more than 5,000 law enforcement officers across Illinois, including 10 Grundy County sergeants.

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