Penske, Teamsters reach labor agreement

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Penske and union leaders reached a deal Friday resolving a three-day strike at the Riverside Avenue truck rental location, according to a joint statement issued by the union.

Four Teamsters walked off the job Sept. 1 after ongoing negotiations collapsed, said Sean O’Brien, Local 25 president, in a telephone interview last week.

“This Agreement will ensure labor peace for the next four years and also protect and preserve benefits and working conditions our members have enjoyed over the years,” the statement said. Randy Ryerson, a representative for Penske, declined to elaborate on the details of the agreement Tuesday.

At issue for the members was maintaining their level and type of health care benefits. According to the union, the company had offered a wage increase that would have hinged on the Teamsters joining the Penske health plan, said Sean O’Brien, president of Local 25, the chapter that represents the striking employees.

The strike surprised Penske, according to a statement issued last week by the national trucking company.

Penske said it sought to be more economically competitive while keeping its employees “among the most highly paid employees of their kind in the Greater Boston area,” according to a statement issued last week by the company during the strike.

In interviewslast week, O’Brien disagreed, arguing that the contract concessions requested by the company were too severe and that the company was using the national economic climate as an excuse to cut benefits and wage increases.