Parking garage attendants, porters and customer service workers across the Chicago area voted Friday to authorize a strike, with the clock running out on a labor contract set to expire on Halloween. The vote covers about 1,200 workers employed by more than a dozen parking companies operating at airports, hotels, office buildings, hospitals and other venues throughout the region.
The scale of the vote depends on who's describing it. The Chicago Tribune reported that workers authorized the strike by a margin of more than 98%, an outcome attributed to Teamsters Local 727. The union's own account, posted the same day by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said nearly 1,200 Local 727 members were voting that day to authorize what it called an unfair labor practice strike, rather than framing the count purely as a contract dispute.
That distinction matters because of what the union says is driving the vote. According to the Teamsters, Local 727 has filed or is preparing unfair labor practice charges alleging refusal to bargain, failure to provide information, unilateral changes, retaliation and unlawful surveillance. The union has said any resulting strikes would be over those unfair labor practice allegations rather than a standard economic walkout.
A Contract Expiring on Halloween
The Master Parking Agreement covering the workers expires October 31, and negotiations between Teamsters and employers took place Friday, the day of the vote, according to the Teamsters. The union has warned that a strike could occur.
The employers don't bargain individually. Teamsters Local 727 negotiates with a group of employers represented jointly by the Chicago Parking Association, which lists 15 operators tied to the agreement, including SP Plus/Metropolis, LAZ Parking, Interpark, ABM and Imperial/Reimagine Parking, along with Legacy Parking, ACE, Peoples Auto Park, Advance Parking, Metro Valet, Park Plus, Pioneer Parking, Vargas, Secure Parking and Windy City Parking Services, according to the Teamsters.
Association Says It's Negotiating in Good Faith
A Chicago Parking Association representative said the association was negotiating in good faith for an agreement in the mutual interest of all parties, including employees and customers, and said it remained committed to the collective bargaining process. The association did not directly address the unfair labor practice allegations.
The Teamsters say people across the region rely on parking services operated by the affected companies. The union describes its members as the people who keep parking operations running at airports, hospitals, hotels, office buildings and entertainment venues across greater Chicagoland.
Two of the city's busiest transit hubs are watching closely. The Chicago Department of Aviation runs O'Hare and Midway airports and said it would work with parking contractors to assess potential impacts and maintain uninterrupted parking services if a strike materializes.
A Different Outcome Four Years Ago in San Francisco
Parking workers elsewhere have reached agreements. In San Francisco, Teamsters Local 665 members unanimously ratified a four-year collective bargaining agreement in 2022 covering more than 1,200 workers at nearly 300 off-street parking locations, including most city office buildings and hotels and all municipal garages, according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. That agreement included annual hourly wage increases, continuation of the union health care plan, improved retirement benefits and more paid leave.
Whether Chicago's dispute follows a similar path toward a ratified contract or tips into a walkout remains to be seen. For now, the union's own materials describe only authorization votes and alleged preparations for a strike, with the Halloween contract deadline bearing down and the first possible walkout date just days away.
