Teamsters strike at food distribution facility ends
PLYMPTON, Mass. (AP) — A nearly three-week strike by truckers at New England’s largest wholesale food distributor has come to and end with a new labor agreement, the Teamsters union said.
The five-year agreement includes an immediate $5 per hour pay raise, an $11 per hour raise over the course of the agreement, improved retirement benefits, and keeps drivers on the union health insurance plan, the Teamsters Local 653 said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
About 300 workers at the Sysco facility in Plympton south of Boston went on strike Oct. 1.
“I’ve never been prouder to be a Teamster. This fight proves that we truly are the biggest, fastest, strongest union in the world,” Local 653 shop steward Kevin Whitten said. “This strike brought members together like never before and built solidarity that will continue for years to come.”
An email seeking comment was left Friday with a spokesperson for Houston-based Sysco.
More than a dozen picketers at the facility were arrested early Monday after blocking the exits with tractor-trailers and preventing some employees from leaving.
Sysco, which has distribution facilities across the country, supplies food to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants and other businesses. The Plympton facility remained operational during the strike with third-party drivers.
