WORKERS AT OPEN KITCHENS JOIN TEAMSTERS

Over 40 Drivers and Helpers Vote to Join Local 703, Set Sights on First Teamsters Contract

CHICAGO, July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 40 drivers and helpers at Open Kitchens in Chicago have voted to join Teamsters Local 703. The group organized to demand better pay, stronger benefits, and safer, more respectful working conditions.

"We voted to become Teamsters because we're tired of being pushed around," said Shamia Johnson, a driver at Open Kitchens and a new member of Local 703. "This is about dignity. With a union, we'll finally have a real voice on the job and the power to fight for a fair contract."

Open Kitchens is a food service provider serving the greater Chicagoland area. During the organizing campaign, the company spent tens of thousands of dollars on anti-union consultants from LRI Consulting Services in an aggressive attempt to stop the union effort. Workers remained united and voted decisively to join the Teamsters.

"Open Kitchens threw everything but the kitchen sink at these workers in a desperate attempt to block them from becoming Teamsters," said Thomas W. Stiede, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 703. "That campaign failed. These workers refused to back down, and now it's time for our bargaining team to negotiate a strong Teamsters contract that delivers real improvements on the job by leveraging our industry presence in the Chicagoland area."

Teamsters Local 703 represents more than 4,000 workers across Northern Illinois and the Chicago area in the grocery, food processing, landscaping, construction, and brewery industries. For more information, visit teamsterslocal703.com

Contact: 
Lena Melentijevic, (347) 208-2279 
LMelentijevic@teamster.org

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SOURCE Teamsters Local 703