UE Local 1123 Fights Back Attacks On Just Cause, Wages and Seniority

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BOLLINGBROOK, IL—On April 25, Local 1123 members ratified a new three-year agreement with their employer, National Consolidation Services (NCS). NCS is a third-party logistics company outside of Chicago that operates an inbound cross dock supplying Walgreens distribution centers across the country.

NCS demanded major concessions, attempted to gut just cause provisions and claw back holidays, and stuck to their proposal of implementing an arbitrary merit pay system until the very last day of bargaining.

Local 1123 Treasurer and bargaining team member Dave Bulwan said, “Our members took full advantage of the labor shortage three years ago when we took a strike vote which led to major improvements in wages, paid leave, improvements in the attendance system, and contract language in 2022. This round of bargaining management increased security and hired scabs from local temp agencies to intimidate members into taking concessions and giving back everything we won in the last contract. Well it didn’t work.”  

Over the course of two months, Local 1123 members stickered up with a “Will strike if provoked” message, voted to authorize their committee to call a strike vote, held rallies in the parking lot during bargaining, and signed a public strike pledge committing to walk and shut down NCS, and by extension Walgreen’s distribution system, if management refused to move off their demands for concessions.

“Every one of our members signed a public strike pledge that we presented to management, and it was that strength, that solidarity that made management sober up and drop their demands to gut seniority, just cause protections, and back off of random drug testing and arbitrary ‘merit’ pay system. ” said Local 1123 President Charles King.

Members ultimately ratified a contract that includes a $0.63 across the board raise in the first year and a wage repopener in 2026 which includes the right to strike over wages. The membership secured a drug testing policy that includes just cause protections, the right to speak to a steward before going to the testing clinic, reasonable cause before management can require drug tests, and marajuana testing levels that protect members who may use legal recreational marajuana outside of work.

At the outset of bargaining the local demanded and won the onboarding and direct hire of temporary workers who were included in the contract campaign. “Don’t let management tell you who you can organize,” said Bulwan. “After we bargained two of the temporary workers into the union, management went out and hired another temp agency and had scabs in the parking lot ready to walk in and take our jobs. We took a caucus and went out and talked to them and told them what was up, they left, and not long after we secured our new contract.”

Members maintained the right to strike mid-contract and secured raises that have kept pace with inflation over the past ten years. President King described it this way: “We made major gains in the last contract and our goal this round was to maintain those gains. We accomplished that, but with a fight. Bargaining conditions since Trump took office have shifted dramatically, companies feel emboldened to demand take-aways and our solidarity is the only thing stopping them. If you are bargaining a contract this year, get strike ready because they are coming for us, but if we stick together we can still beat them on the shop floor where our power is.”

The Local 1123 bargaining committee consisted of President Charles King and Treasurer Dave Bulwan. They were assisted by International Representative Sean Fulkerson.