--- title: "Gianni: IDOT employees represented by Teamsters vote to strike" description: The America’s Work Force Union Podcast is the nation’s premier daily labor program. Pasquale Gianni joined us on today’s show. image: https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/teamsters%20red%20mic.jpg --- 1 min read Season 5, Episode 33 # Gianni: IDOT employees represented by Teamsters vote to strike [ awfblog ](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog) February 14, 2024 [America's Work Force Union Podcast](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/americas-work-force-union-podcast) [AWF](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/awf) [Teamsters](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/teamsters) ![AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_teamsters](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_teamsters.png?width=400&height=400&name=AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_teamsters.png)   Guest Name: --- Pasquale Gianni Guest Website: --- [teamster.org](https://teamster.org/)  Guest Social Media: --- [ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/teamsters) [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/teamsters) [ YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/TeamsterPower) [ LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/) Supportive Documents: --- Pasquale Gianni, Council and Political Director of [Teamsters Joint Council 25](https://teamster.org/) appeared on the the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and explained why the Teamsters employed by the Illinois Department of Transportation are preparing to go on strike against the administration of Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Gianni discussed how the current battle with IDOT actually started during the term of former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. During Rauner’s tenure, members of the Teamsters went four years without a Collective Bargaining Agreement and had their paychecks frozen. However, they were able to negotiate a move to the Teamster’s Union Health and Welfare plan, which proved to be an upgrade in benefits and ultimately resulted in less wages deducted from the paycheck for insurance.  Today, the administration of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, wants the IDOT Teamsters to go back on the state’s plan, which Gianni called a no-starter. Eight Local Unions under the Joint Council’s umbrella have reached their breaking point during these negotiations, and by a 95 percent margin, voted to authorize a strike. He acknowledged that the Teamster’s Health and Welfare plan has Cadilac benefits that the members do not want to give up. He believes Pritzker wants all the state’s union employees to be on the same plan as a way not to show favoritism. A final decision to go on strike could come within the next few weeks. Listen to the entire episode to hear more about the situation of Teamsters Joint Council 25. --- America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues. America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### SUBSCRIBE ON: --- [![Group 342](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png?width=171&name=Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/id1511224946) [![Group 341](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Spotify%20Button-Dark.png?width=100&name=Spotify%20Button-Dark.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzkHxFSBxiXvuX0lZpQBn) [![Group 343](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20343.png?width=135&name=Group%20343.png)](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast-62567752/) [![Group 339](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20339.png?width=110&name=Group%20339.png)](https://www.pandora.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/PC:47979) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20397.png?width=125&name=Group%20397.png)](https://americasworkforceradiopodcast.podbean.com/) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/YouTube_button.png?width=125&name=YouTube_button.png)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQo1PAtRAel1_tS7-PQOkA)   #### [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) : July 6, 2026 # Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat Brandon Elvey, Secretary-Treasurer of the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen](https://www.brs.org/),... [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) #### [AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on the Convention, AI and America at 250](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/afl-cios-fred-redmond-on-the-convention-ai-and-america-at-250) : July 3, 2026 # AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on the Convention, AI and America at 250 Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the [AFL-CIO](https://awf.labortools.com/), joined the [America's Work Force...](https://awf.labortools.com/) [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/afl-cios-fred-redmond-on-the-convention-ai-and-america-at-250) #### [C/COBCTC's Dorsey Hager on Drones, Data Centers and Growth](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/c/cobctcs-dorsey-hager-on-drones-data-centers-and-growth) : July 2, 2026 # Dorsey Hager on Drones, Data Centers and Central Ohio's Building Boom Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the [Columbus/Central Ohio...](https://columbusconstruction.org/) [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/c/cobctcs-dorsey-hager-on-drones-data-centers-and-growth) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "awfblog", "url" : "https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog" }, "dateModified" : "2024-02-14T22:49:04.643Z", "datePublished" : "2024-02-14T22:49:04.000Z", "headline" : "Gianni: IDOT employees represented by Teamsters vote to strike", "image" : [ "https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/teamsters%20red%20mic.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://awf.labortools.com/listen/gianni-idot-employees-represented-by-teamsters-vote-to-strike", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/labor-tools-logo-white.png" }, "name" : "BMA Media" } } ```