A tentative agreement reached Saturday between the Metropolitan Airports Commission and Teamsters Local 320 looks to avoid a potential strike by Twin Cities airport maintenance employees, including snowplow operators.
Both the MAC and Teamsters Local 320 announced the tentative agreement Saturday afternoon.
"It's been a trying few weeks," said Teamsters Local 320 President Sami Gabriel. "In preparation for a strike, both sides have had to take measures and sometimes those aren't the most fun things to do and go through. It's been trying on our membership."
The tentative agreement came days after employees represented by the union announced an intention to strike, which would have left Twin Cities airports, including the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, without snowplow drivers.
"A few days ago we got together with our stewards and started to assemble strike signs. The MAC has been taking their own measures," added Gabriel.
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Gabriel said updating a severance package negotiated decades ago remained the priority for members during current negotiations. The current severance package covered just 20 percent of their membership.
"To get that severance for the remaining 80 percent of our membership was a priority," Gabriel said. "We were able to do that. The 80 percent will have a severance package starting on July 1, 2022."
Gabriel added that agreements were made on several issues, with give-and-take on both sides, including when it came to wages and other issues.
"We were able to add an additional holiday which is Juneteenth," she said. "We increased seniority protection with a master seniority provision."
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, negotiations were held virtually using Zoom and when they did meet in-person, precautions were taken during mediation to keep both sides in different rooms.
Saturday morning's negotiations were held in-person and at the same table.
"With our masks on and with social distancing. I really think that's why we were able to come to an agreement today," Gabriel said. "Understanding that we are in this together. Nobody wins in strike, but it's sometimes the necessary thing to do. Everybody wants to come away with an agreement that we can all shake hands and walk away with good feelings that we can present to our membership."
MAC employees with Teamsters Local 320 will vote on the agreement on Wednesday.
“Labor negotiations are never easy and the past few weeks have been difficult for everyone involved, so I want to thank the Teamsters and MAC staff for their dogged pursuit of an agreement that benefits everyone involved,” wrote Metropolitan Airports Commission Chair Rick King. “At the end of day, we all share the same goals: fair compensation for employees and unfettered operation of an airport system that creates tens of thousands of jobs and generates billions of dollars every year for the area economy.”