Teamster-Represented Funeral Directors Rally For New Contract

Funeral Directors and Drivers Gather in Support of Negotiating Committee

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Jun 25, 2013, 04:47 ET

CHICAGO, June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Funeral directors, drivers and their supporters from around Chicago rallied in front of SCI-owned Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn today. The rally was held to support the funeral directors' bargaining team.

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"We hope that SCI hears our voices and comes to the bargaining table ready to negotiate a contract that keeps its workers on par with other funeral directors in Chicago," said David Culyat, a 44-year funeral director at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home. "For the past seven years my wages have been frozen as we've watched SCI's stock rise and its executives get bonuses. Before milking every cent of profit from the Chicago community, SCI should share the wealth my fellow funeral directors helped create."

Teamsters Local 727 has been negotiating a contract for its 59 members at 16 SCI-owned (NYSE: SCI) funeral homes since June 14. No strike date has been set as talks continue. The current contract expires at 12 a.m., Monday, July 1.

Over the course of negotiations, SCI has approximately 40 regressive changes to the current contract including:

Eliminating the funeral directors' pension plan
Increasing the cost of health insurance premiums for employees
Wage freezes for new hires
Paltry wage increases after years of wage freezes
Elimination of authority of the arbitrator in arbitration decisions
Elimination of holiday pay

Contract negotiations will continue as the contract expiration date nears.

Teamsters Local 727 has represented Chicago's funeral directors and embalmers since 1946, and it represents more than 6,800 hardworking men and women in the greater Chicagoland area.

SOURCE Teamsters Local 727