Unionized Sarasota warehouse workers approve contract, get up to $8 hourly boost

More than 300 unionized warehouse workers at a wholesale grocery distribution facility in Sarasota have approved a five-year contract with their employer, United Foods Inc., according to a statement from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

As part of the collective bargaining agreement, the workers secured up to an $8-an-hour wage increase, Teamsters health care coverage and participation in the Teamsters Western Conference Pension Plan, the statement says.

"This is a major victory for our members at UNFI and sets the bar for warehouse and grocery industry jobs across our region," President of Teamsters Local 79 Brian Rothman says in a statement.

In 2024, the Sarasota UNFI warehouse workers voted to join Teamsters Local 79, which is based in Tampa. 

"This contract is exactly why we joined the Teamsters," Charles Dowling, a warehouse worker and member of Local 79, says in the statement. "We fought hard for the pay, benefits and protections we deserve. Now we walk into work with our heads high, backed by the strength of a Teamsters contract."

More than 5,000 UNFI employees are Teamsters, according to the statement, which says over 1,000 of them have joined in the past year. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million workers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.