200 Cook County Forest Preserves workers go on strike amid contract dispute

Approximately 200 union workers at the Forest Preserve District of Cook County went on strike on Monday, after rejecting a contract proposal they said doesn't provide sufficient pay raises.

Truck drivers, laborers, and mechanics represented by Teamsters Local 700 rejected the district's latest contract offer, saying the district "refused to close a pay gap that leaves them earning far less than workers doing the same or similar jobs elsewhere in Cook County and Illinois state government."

Forest Preserve District leaders said they offered a total of 8% in raises over two years, plus a $2,500 one-time payment for full-time employees.

However, the union said they earn far less than the rates paid to comparable workers at the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways, the Chicago Park District, the City of Chicago, the Illinois Tollway, and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"Our members would rather be out in the preserves doing the work they take pride in, but the District left them no choice. It pays them a fraction of what every comparable public employer in this region pays for the same work, it advances its non-union staff ten times faster up the pay scale, and it would rather hire outside contractors than fairly pay its own people. Our members are done being treated as the least-valued workers in Cook County," said Teamsters Local 700 president Ramon Williams

The district said, despite the strike, forest preserve trails, picnic groves, nature centers, campgrounds, golf courses, and other amenities will remain open to the public.

"All the employees of the Forest Preserves are critical to our success, and that certainly is the case for the members of Local 700. We recognize and appreciate the work they do every day all year long to keep the Preserves a place that is a gem in Cook County. Working within our current and long-term fiscal restrictions, the Forest Preserves has made offers to the union that continue to provide a compensation package that is at and above what is competitive in the labor market. We are confident that we can negotiate with the union to find a solution within our confines," said Forest Preserve District general superintendent Adam Bianchi.