Agreement makes meaningful improvements to all contract areas

A group of 75 Teamsters Local 174 members at Cedar Grove Composting recently overwhelmingly ratified a strong new Agreement. The new contract makes substantial improvements in every area and addresses all the priorities identified by the group prior to negotiations: wage increases, maintaining health insurance with no out-of-pocket premium for workers and their families, pension increases, and better rules surrounding overtime, vacations, and job bidding.

Cedar Grove Composting has a somewhat specialized business model in the garbage and recycling industry, as the company primarily picks up yard and food waste, composts it into high-quality dirt, and then delivers that dirt to customers. Local 174 represents the truck drivers, dispatchers, and yard crew, all of whom have wildly different jobs and skillsets, and all of whose needs were addressed by this new contract.

“Negotiations with Cedar Grove Composting can be challenging given the uniqueness of this industry, but it is that uniqueness that makes it so important for our contract to protect our members and provide consistency in their lives,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “By sticking together as a group and standing up for what they know they are worth, our members were able to win a contract that achieves their goals and will secure their future for the next several years.”

Founded in 1909, Teamsters Local 174 represents 8,400 working men and women in the Seattle area. “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamstersLocal174.