Brookfield Zoo strike: The dispute, the animals, and the unanswered questions
Some Brookfield Zoo Chicago workers strike as contract talks stall
Some Brookfield Zoo Chicago workers are on strike Monday. Here’s what it means for visitors.
CHICAGO - More than 100 Brookfield Zoo workers went on strike Monday after contract talks fell apart Friday.
One of the Chicago area’s most popular attractions is now running shorthanded. And according to the union, it is starting to show.
The workers want better wages, protected health coverage, and answers about how the zoo compensates its top executives. The zoo says its offers on all fronts are fair. Neither side has moved. No new talks are set.
On health care, workers currently pay nothing out of pocket. The zoo funds that benefit by paying into a shared pool called the Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund. The union says the zoo is not contributing enough to keep that coverage alive and wants to freeze future payments so low that workers would eventually lose benefits.
On wages, the zoo’s latest offer came in below 4%. The union has not said publicly what it is asking for in return. On executive pay, the union says compensation for zoo leadership has climbed significantly while workers are being asked to accept less.
Fox 32 has requested the zoo’s public financial records to verify that claim and has not yet received a response.
Who is on strike:
Groundskeepers, custodians, security officers, and facilities workers walked out at 5 a.m. Monday.
They are members of Teamsters Local 727. Negotiations had been going on since February. They ended Friday with no counteroffer from the zoo. Animal care workers have not walked out yet.
They are working out a care plan for the animals before they join the line.
What visitors will find:
The zoo says it is open and normal. Union president Caleen Carter-Patton says it is not.
Dolphin shows are canceled. Animal encounters are gone. Bathrooms are not being cleaned. Trash sat uncollected Monday.
"Our members deserve a lot better for the work they do making the Zoo," she said.
Two different sides:
On Monday afternoon, the zoo said it asked the union for health care cost data repeatedly and never got it.
Carter-Patton disputed that directly. She says the zoo never came to the union and only contacted the Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund itself for the first time on Sunday. The zoo has not responded to her account.
Fox 32 reached out to the fund to determine when the zoo first made contact. That request is pending.
Carter-Patton also says the zoo is one of the lowest-contributing employers in the entire fund. That would directly contradict the zoo’s claim that its contributions are fair and in line with other employers. Fox 32 contacted the fund to verify that claim and has not yet received a response. The zoo has not addressed it.
The union says the zoo compared Chicago worker pay to wages in Alabama and West Virginia to argue workers are already compensated fairly.
"These comparisons ignore the reality of the Chicagoland area," the union said. The zoo has not responded to that claim.
What's next:
The next major development to watch is whether animal care workers walk out. They have not yet joined the strike. Once they do, every department at the zoo will be affected. Fox 32 is continuing to report and will update this story as new information comes in.
The Source: The information in this story came from Teamsters Local 727 and Brookfield Zoo Chicago.