HAZELWOOD — Over 40 union employees of a Fortune 500 company headquartered in ºüÀêÊÓƵ are on day 13 of a strike after six months of failed negotiations for better pay.
Forty-two members of Teamsters Local 688, who staff a warehouse in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County owned by industrial electric distributor Graybar, seek pay raises that “reflect the impact of inflation.†They also want the company to admit them into Graybar’s profit-sharing program.
Graybar distributes electrical, communications, data networking and industrial products from over 300 locations. Its website describes Graybar as one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America with about 9,400 employees.
Chris Tongay, secretary-treasurer of Local 688, said employees at Graybar’s ºüÀêÊÓƵ warehouse make about $5 less per hour than the industry standard. Graybar has also excluded the union employees from the company’s employee stock option program, Tongay said.
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“We can bargain for it, and we’ve tried in the past, but they’ve always said no,†Tongay said. “These guys are just tired of it.â€
Tony Talir, a long-time Graybar employee with 24 years under his belt, describes the company’s payscale as “awful.â€
“It’s under what the lowest of the supply houses are here,†Talir said. “There’s a fantastic fringe-benefit package — we’re just not part of it. We believe it’s because of our union affiliation, but it’s hard to even get an answer about why.â€
Robin Armstead has worked for Graybar for five years. He likes his co-workers and job, even if employees don’t feel “financially respected.â€
“You want your employer to take care of you the way you take care of them,†Armstead said.
Employees picketed for hours during the cold and wind on Saturday. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., made a visit to express “his support and solidarity†with the workers.
“They deserve to have a fair wage and be a part of profit sharing,†Hawley said Saturday.
Last fall, Hawley visited striking autoworkers outside the General Motors plant in Wentzville. The move , as the senator previously took stances that opposed those held by organized labor.
When asked about his 0% agreement rating by the AFL-CIO at the time, Hawley said he was pro-worker.
Hawley’s Democratic opponent in the August primary, Lucas Kunce, stopped by the picket line on March 1, according to reporting from the .
Things may change for Graybar employees. Tongay said the union has a meeting with Graybar and a federal mediator on Monday.
But Graybar hasn’t budged in the past. The company previously rejected a $4.25 hourly increase over five years. The current offer on the table is a $4 increase over three years, which would bring warehouse workers’ starting wage to $21.50. That’s still less than the industry standard of $23 per hour, Tongay said.
“We’re not trying to get rich, not trying to buy Ferraris or flying jets,†Armstead said. “We’re just trying to make a living wage and pay bills.â€
Representatives for Graybar did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday afternoon.
Despite taking past positions that were in opposition to organized labor, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Tuesday visited striking autoworkers in Wentzville, where he called himself "pro-worker" and encouraged higher pay for autoworkers in the U.S.Â
“We’re not looking to raise our debts and deficits any further than they already are,†Wagner said.Â