A top official for the Teamsters local that represents most of the workers at Spiegel Inc.`s sprawling distribution facilities on the South and Southwest Sides said Monday he expects the catalog giant to ultimately move out of the city.
Fearing a relocation could lead to the loss of 2,200 jobs, city and state officials have presented proposals for alternative sites to the Downers Grove- based company.
But despite those government efforts, Elijah Buffington, vice president of Teamsters Local 743, said, ”I`m not very optimistic that they will relocate in Chicago.” The union represents about 1,400 of the warehouse, mail-order, office and technical workers at the facility.
Spiegel officials, who are concerned about the long-term viability of the facilities, where some of the structures date back nearly a century, insist they have not made a decision to move.
Michael R. Moran, vice president and general counsel of Spiegel, would not comment on the union`s concerns ”because we have not yet completed our review. We have not made a decision regarding the current facility.”
Neither would he comment on reports that the company is considering a move of the operation to Columbus, Ohio, where its subsidiary, Eddie Bauer, has its distribution center.
Relations between the company and union have been strained for some time, particularly since December, when bargaining on a new 3-year contract began. And last August, the company began laying off 145 union customer-service employees at its Oak Brook phone center while it opened a new center in Rapid City, S.D. Teamsters officials there are trying to unionize those employees.
”I think one of the major factors is to get away from the unions,”
Buffington said. ”They`re no different than most companies that are planning on moving out of Chicago or have moved out of Chicago or other cities where the unions are strong.”
Whether the company decides to stay or move to a state-of-the-art facility has nothing to do with the union, Moran said.
”This is a facilities issue. We`re not addressing a labor issue at all,” he said.
The company expects to come up with a final decision next month.
Spiegel officials notified employees at its warehouse operations at two main sites, at 35th and Morgan Streets and at Pershing Road and Wolcott Avenue, of the possible move Friday.
But the news was hardly a surprise for most, because Spiegel indicated during contract negotiations last winter and spring that it was considering a move, Buffington said.
During that time, ”we had some serious collective bargaining, perhaps the most serious since I`ve been involved with Spiegel in the last 24 years,” he said.
Most of the tension revolved around the use of part-time workers, which the company wanted to increase because of day-to-day peaks and valleys in the mail-order business. The union finally made major concessions on the issue, Buffington said.
The final contract, which was approved April 24, allows for part-timers to make up 40 percent of clerical and blue-collar workers during peak business periods and 30 percent during the regular season. The union had asked that their portion not exceed 15 percent.
Local 743 represents an additional 600 Spiegel employees at its surrounding suburban offices, including its customer-service center in Oak Brook.
Spiegel, which has retail outlets as well as mail-order operations, and a major competitor, Lands` End, are among the most efficient in the mail-order catalog industry, said Walter Loeb, president of Loeb Associates, a New York- based retail consultant.
But even so, the company is finding it increasingly difficult to make plans to install new computers and machinery in the nearly two dozen buildings that comprise the Chicago sites. Like the rest of the catalog industry, Spiegel`s sales have remained flat, although Loeb predicts an upturn this year.
Among the list of possible Chicago sites presented by city officials was the proposed third airport site at Lake Calumet, which was rejected by the General Assembly in June. Although Mayor Richard Daley declared the airport proposal dead in July after its legislative defeat, the Spiegel proposal was the first alternative use for the site to surface publicly since then.
