Increase Follows Unanimous Vote By Delegates to the 29th International Convention

International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall have announced that strike benefit increases approved by delegates to the 29th International Convention became effective on July 1, 2016.

Under the Teamsters’ new constitutional provisions, which were unanimously approved by delegates on June 30, 2016, the changes raise strike benefits, increase minimum benefits and allow for benefits to begin earlier than in the past.

“Our strike fund has more than doubled in the last five years,” Hoffa said. “We want to ensure that our members are getting the benefits that they deserve when forced out on strike.”

Teamster members will receive benefits that are based on five times their hourly dues rate, a 25 percent increase from four times the dues rate. The minimum out of work benefits will rise to $150 per week, an increase from $100. And, benefits will be paid at the end of the 8th day, previously paid at the end of the 11th day.

“We have built our strike fund to more than $153 million,” Hall said. “We have the resources to take on any employer, anywhere, at any time.”

The improvements, with the exception of the hourly increase, also apply to newly organized members who have voted for the Teamsters and designated the Union as their bargaining agent, but do not yet have a contract.

Teamsters Joint Council 25, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is America’s premier labor union for Chicago, Illinois and northwest Indiana.