Woodland Park Zoo, workers union come to tentative agreement; strike stalled

Around 200 Woodland Park Zoo workers, who are members of the Join Craft Council (JCC) Coalition of Unions, have been poised to strike as the JCC negotiated a new contract with the zoo. Workers hoped the deliberations would result in better pay and benefits.

On Monday, the zoo and the JCC came to a tentative agreement. According to a news release from Teamsters Local Union 117, an affiliate of JCC, the central issues were providing affordable healthcare and equitable wages.

Teamsters Local Union 117 stated the proposed agreement is fully recommended by the union’s negotiations committee and is subject to ratification of its members.

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The union said members will have the opportunity to review and vote on the offer in the next four weeks.

“I’m proud of the leadership and solidarity our union coalition has shown throughout the bargaining process,” Paul Dascher, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117, stated in the news release.

“Union members at Woodland Park Zoo are at the heart of successful operations of one of Seattle’s marquee destinations for families. They approach their work in serving the public and caring for the animals with compassion and uncompromising dedication. We are excited to present this fully-recommended contract proposal to them for their consideration,” he continued.

Workers had previously said they were frustrated with the zoo, saying the zoo failed to value and retain an experienced workforce, according to an earlier news release from Teamsters Local Union 117, last week.

“We are hemorrhaging critical animal care experience which directly affects the standard of care we can provide for our animals,” Allison Cloud, an animal keeper and member of Teamsters 117, said. “The zoo is forcing us to choose between our livelihoods and our animals, a heartbreaking decision no zookeeper ever wants to make.”

Members of the coalition said low wages, cost of healthcare, low morale and high turnover put the zoo’s Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accreditation at risk.

If there was going to be a strike, which has been put on the back burner for now, the coalition said the group of 200 workers would devise a skeleton crew for the animals and the zoo would have to close to the public.

“We are making contingency plans to ensure the continued well-being of the animals if we are forced to strike,” Janel Kempf, a learning coordinator with the zoo and a shop steward with Teamsters 117, said in last week’s release.

“A strike is an absolute last resort and one that none of us takes lightly, but the zoo keeps pushing us in that direction. If the zoo doesn’t change course soon, we will have no other choice than to withhold our labor,” she continued.

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JCC and the zoo have been negotiating for the last ten months, according to the coalition.

Workers said, via a public statement, if they do not accept the zoo’s proposal, they will take their case to the public “through direct, concerted action.”

This story was originally published on August 9, 2024. It has been updated and republished since then.

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.

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