A brief strike at the Brookfield Zoo is expected to end after zoo management reached a tentative agreement with the striking workers’ union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 727.
More than 100 zoo workers, including members of the groundskeeping and custodial staff, walked off the job Monday morning after contract negotiations between the Teamsters and zoo management stalled.
The tentative agreement comes a day after lawyers for the Teamsters filed a complaint against the zoo in federal court alleging it had locked zookeepers out of the animals’ medication management system.
The zoo never closed during the strike, a spokesperson confirmed, though the Teamsters had urged the public not to cross the picket line. Workers who specialize in zoo animal care remained on the job to provide essential animal care, though they had planned to join the strike in time.
The Teamsters and the zoo had assured the public that the animals would be cared for during the strike.
But in a complaint filed in federal court Tuesday, the Teamsters alleged the zoo had locked the workers out of the zoo’s computer system, preventing the zookeepers from accessing new medications and refills for the animals in their care.
“If the medication is not provided on a timely basis, there is a substantial likelihood of significant illness or death of many animals, including the Southern Tamandua named Pedersen, the Southern Tamandua named Kerry, the Leopard Tortoise named Kaya, the Prehensile-tailed Porcupine named Lucia, and the Primates Barney, Shango, Jontu, Koola, Binti, Kamba, Nora, and Ali,” attorneys for the Teamsters alleged in the complaint.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the zoo said that “at no time was animal health or wellbeing placed at risk.”
“Animal care management and veterinary leadership were available at all times and actively overseeing all animal care operations, treatments, and daily needs to ensure continuity of the highest standards of care,” the zoo said.
The Teamsters also alleged the zoo had violated its collective bargaining agreement in barring the animal care specialists from joining the strike.
The zookeepers’ contract, according to the lawsuit, states that management personnel at the zoo may step in to provide animal care during a work stoppage. If the zoo deems management personnel insufficient, the contract stipulates it can require zookeepers to keep working so long as it provides information justifying that decision to the union.
The lawsuit alleges the zoo failed to do so.
“These employees being unjustifiably forced to continue to work, under threat of harm to the animals, are each day being denied their right to strike and the Union is being denied the economic leverage it would otherwise have in the course of the negotiations for the successor [contract],” the lawsuit reads.
The zoo spokesperson said the zoo “disagrees with the allegations” in the complaint.
“We have reached a tentative resolution that resolves all issues, including that lawsuit,” the spokesperson said.
The Teamsters said Wednesday it was finalizing return-to-work plans for the striking bargaining unit members.
Sticking points during contract negotiations included disagreements over healthcare, raises and staffing levels, the secretary-treasurer of Local 727, John Coli Jr., previously said. In a statement, he called the tentative agreement “a major win for our members,” pointing to wage increases, additional staffing and an agreement to continue the workers’ employer-paid union healthcare.
“This outcome reflects the strength, unity, and determination of our members, and it shows what workers can achieve when they stand together,” Coli said.
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The Brookfield Zoo said Wednesday it had offered workers raises that average out to 5% each year of the proposed four-year contract. The zoo had previously offered raises that averaged out to approximately 3.6% per year of the agreement.
The union said it was striking over a number of unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board, including allegations of bad faith bargaining on the part of the zoo. The zoo denied those allegations, saying it had continually bargained in good faith with the union.
“We are excited to welcome our team members back as we move forward together in our shared dedication to our people, the animals in our care, and the communities we serve,” the zoo’s president and CEO, Mike Adkesson, said in a statement.