Strike Averted; Alderwoods Funeral Employees Approve Contract

Teamsters Accept Last-Minute Offer

CHICAGO, July 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Alderwoods funeral employees
voted 16-4 to accept a last-minute contract offer from the company on Tuesday
night, averting a strike.
Service Corporation International, Alderwoods parent company, sweetened
its offer considerably from its initial proposal of a 30 percent wage cut. The
final offer included a doubling of the company's contribution to employees'
401(k) plans, from 2 percent to 4 percent.
The company also backed off the dramatic changes it demanded in working
conditions. Some employees took slight pay cuts, some had their wages frozen
and some received slight pay increases.
A federal mediator offered to mediate the dispute between the Chicago-area
Teamsters and Houston-based Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) just
hours before the contract vote took place. Teamsters Local 727 represents 25
funeral employees at six area Alderwoods homes.
"We look forward to healing the wounds and closing the rift with the
company that resulted from contentious negotiations," said Teamsters Local 727
Secretary-Treasurer John Coli.
Teamsters Local 727 has represented funeral directors, embalmers and
chauffeurs since 1946. Local 727 funeral employees have never struck an
employer.
The six Alderwoods homes are: Mt. Auburn in Stickney, Oehler Arlington
Heights, Oehler Des Plaines, Weinstein-Devon in Chicago, Weinstein-Wilmette
and Zefran in Chicago.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4
million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto
Rico.
SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Leslie Miller, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, +1-202-409-6647,
lmiller@teamster.org