Teamsters picket Des Moines' Plumb Supply after voting down company's offer

A Teamsters contract with Plumb Supply in Des Moines expired Wednesday, prompting members of the union's Local 90 to gather in front of the business during their lunch hour for a practice picket in preparation for the possibility of a real strike.

The workers carried signs reading “Just Practicing for a Just Contract” as talks between union officials and the company continued with the assistance of a federal mediator.

The union represents 28 drivers and warehouse workers at Plumb Supply's headquarters in Saylor Township. The company, founded nearly 80 years ago, has 32 locations throughout Iowa and Missouri and provides wholesale components for plumbing, heating, air conditioning and ventilation, plus pipe valves and fittings, cabinets and countertops.

The Teamsters made an offer to the company Wednesday morning that Local 90 Secretary-Treasurer Alano De La Rosa called “fair and equitable.” De La Rosa said the union was awaiting Plumb Supply’s “last offer,” which could be voted on by members as soon as Friday evening.

The union overwhelmingly rejected a previous company offer of a 25-cents-an-hour wage increase, with 95% of members voting against it April 26.

De La Rosa said that without a contract, Teamsters can continue to work but also could strike at any time. If the workers do go out, he said, it will be in the form of a “rolling strike” where they don’t show up on some days but report to work on others. He said that would make it more difficult for the company to bring in replacement workers.

Officials with Plumb Supply did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

In addition to seeking higher wages, the union is attempting to negotiate over vacation time, retirement benefits and what it said was the placement of cameras in trucks to monitor employees. De La Rosa said the union has filed an unfair labor practices complaint over the cameras with the National Labor Relations Board.

Teamsters' visibility rising in recent months

Iowa Teamsters have been active over the last several months. In February, the union's Local 238, whose members include state government workers, staged a large demonstration at the Iowa Capitol against a bill that sought to force public employee bargaining units to hold union recertification votes before any contract renewal. The bill did not reach a floor vote .

And in October, Teamsters Local 90 and Pepsicola Beverage Co. in Urbandale reached a new contract after workers, as with Plumb Supply, voted down an initial offer and staged practice pickets. Despite winning a new contract, the local recently joined Teamsters in Illinois and Indiana in filing an unfair labor practices complaint against the company overwork rules that prohibit workers from discussing wages, hours, or other terms or conditions of employment.

Despite growing approval in public opinion polls and victories including the United Auto Workers' securing a contract with automakers boosting wages and benefits, U.S. union membership fell to a historic low in 2023 at 10%.

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Teamsters picket Des Moines' Plumb Supply after voting down company's offer