Today the Chicago area representatives of 17 funeral homes resumed their negotiations with the largest funeral home operator in the United States Service Corporation International (NYSE:  SCI).

Teamsters Local 727 contract with SCI expires on June 30th of 2010. If a new contract is not signed the union is threatening with a labor strike. If this happens 17 Chicago area funeral homes will stop operating until the dispute is resolved.

The union says Service Corporation International wants to renew the contract with "severe and unreasonable changes" that would apply to the Chicago area funeral directors and drivers. According to Teamsters SCI management is proposing to freeze the funeral director's salaries for three year, cut the wages for its longest-tenured employees and eliminate employee pensions. According to the labor union SCI is also proposing to increase the co-pay for health and welfare benefits by 30 percent.

Teamsters are not asking for wage increase, but just seeking "to maintain industry standards for its members' wages and benefits." The negotiations resumed today and will continue until tomorrow.

Despite the economic difficulties in the United States SCI is a profitable business. In fact, it increased its funeral profit by 500,000 dollars in the first quarter of 2010 reaching 83 million dollars.

If Teamsters go for a strike, they have set up a hotline to help people to redirect to competing funeral homes as a sign of continual care for the customers. "We are in the process of setting up a hotline to help direct families to funeral facilities that treat their employees with dignity," said John Coli Jr., Local 727 Vice President.

Written by Armen Hareyan