Universal Studios Drivers to Strike Over Wage Dispute

Tour drivers at Universal Studios have rejected a new four-year contract offer by the entertainment giant and said they plan to go on strike Tuesday.

The vote by Teamsters Local 399 was 49 to 41 against accepting Universal’s contract offer. The sore point apparently is a $4-an-hour disparity in top pay between what the most experienced drivers are paid now and what newer hires would eventually receive when they reach the top pay tier.

“In the 1980s, the local was forced into a multi-tier wage system for drivers,” said Teamsters attorney Joe Kaplon, “and we believe the fact there are people working side by side who are not making the same rates created this problem. And it may be unsolvable.”

Kaplon said the top pay for drivers is about $22 an hour, versus an $18 cap on the eventual top pay for those now in the lower wage tier.

The local represents about 100 Universal Studios tram drivers and 28 mechanics.

A Universal Studios spokesman said that the Teamsters’ local bargaining committee supported the company’s latest offer and that “no further negotiations are planned.”

The previous five-year Teamsters contract expired May 10, but drivers continued to work while negotiations continued.

But on Friday the union sent Universal the required 72-hour notice for a strike, which would go into effect after the Memorial Day weekend, Kaplon said.

“Whether or not the parties will get together to amend the agreement so that another vote could be taken, and the strike could be avoided, is anybody’s guess,” he said.