CONTRACT RATIFIED UNANIMOUSLY
Media contact: Andrew Hutchinson, Union Representative
Phone: (573) 499-3720
Email: [email protected]
COLUMBIA – LiUNA Local 955 members at Wildcat Materials go back to work today (4/27/2023) after voting unanimously to ratify their contract. The strike has ended.
Wildcat Materials originally offered:
- Year 1: 3% (2023)
- Year 2: 3% (2024)
- Year 3: 3% (2025)
After a week and half long strike and a full day of negotiations on Wednesday, 4/26/2023, the company offered the following:
- Year 1: 10% raise (2023)
- Year 2: 3% raise (2024)
- Year 3: 3:% raise (2025)
LiUNA Local 955 members unanimously ratified the contract this morning and went back to work today.
“This drastic increase in wages, after only 8 days of striking, proves what we have known all along.” Local 955 Union Representative Andrew Hutchinson said. “Wildcat always had the money to pay these workers – it just took workers and community members standing together and demanding fair wages for fair work.”
“This win firmly demonstrates that Columbia is a union town. Every worker, no matter their trade or occupation, can win a union if they organize with their peers and community to demand dignity on the job and fair wages for their work.” said David Riney, Business Manager for Local 955.
“Once again, we have shown the power of solidarity and coming together for our community,” said Drew Amidei, Mid-Missouri Jobs with Justice Organizer. “Our members took to the streets to join picket lines, made calls into Wildcat Materials’ management, sent more than five dozen emails to Wildcat Inc. & to their parent corporation – Gypsum Materials and Supplies, and more. In Columbia, St. Louis, and Springfield, Missouri Jobs with Justice leaders delivered letters of support of these LiUNA 955 members. We are proud to see our collective efforts pay off and Wildcat Management Inc. bosses finally negotiated in good faith. When we come together, we win.”
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Laborers (LiUNA) Local 955 is a union of workers fighting for better wages and working conditions in mid-Missouri. LiUNA Local 955 members work at the City of Centralia, City of Columbia, Boone County Road & Bridge, University of Missouri – Columbia, University of Missouri Kansas City, MU Healthcare, Truman State, City of Kirksville & MFA Feed Mills in Mexico & Kirksville, and Wildcat Materials workers.
Missouri Jobs with Justice is a statewide grassroots coalition of individuals and faith, labor, student, and community groups building transformative power for social, racial, and economic justice. Our individual and organizational members come together to hold decision-makers accountable and to build a Missouri where opportunity exists for all regardless of race, identity, income, or immigration status. Follow our work at https://www.facebook.com/MissouriJobsWithJustice/ or www.mojwj.org
