Food Processing NEWS. Focus On Organizing. Teamsters. Cannery Council Delegates Prepare for 2003 Negotiations

Transcription

1 Teamsters Food Processing APRIL 2003 A Publication of the Dairy Conference, Fred Gegare, Director NEWS Focus On Organizing Union Leaders Want to Boost Food Processing Ranks Tens of thousands of Teamsters work in the food processing industry, and the organizing potential in this industry is huge. That s the message several dozen Union leaders and activists heard February 12, 2003 during the Food Processing Policy Committee s Western Area Organizing meeting at Local 439 in Stockton, California. The recent dues increase has generated funds to organize and we are building a partnership with local unions to organize, said Fred Gegare, an International Vice President and Dairy Conference Director. This is a new day for workers in Food Processing. In February, 2002, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa asked Gegare to head up the Food Processing Division, which is now affiliated with the Dairy Conference. It used be part of the Warehouse Division. But soon Food Processing will be its own Continued on page 3 Cannery Council Delegates Prepare for 2003 Negotiations Workshop Addresses Grievances, Skills Training, Other Issues About 50 delegates to the Teamsters California State Cannery Council gathered in November, 2002 for a series of seminars and workshops on labor issues affecting workers in the cannery industry. Continued on page 3 INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS 25 Louisiana Avenue, NW Washington, DC Visit Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Washington, DC Permit No. 4481

2 A Message from Food Processing Director Fred Gegare Organizing is Key to Our Success Our goal is to provide the security and strength of the Teamsters to as many of our brothers and sisters as possible. About a year ago, General President Jim Hoffa asked me to head up the Food Processing Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The General President realizes and I concur that the organizing potential in the food processing industry is enormous. Thanks to increased revenues, the International is committed to stepping up efforts and working with Local Unions and Joint Councils to organize the unorganized in our industry. This newsletter is part of our effort. In order to be successful, we all need to take part. I urge you to talk to your friends, relatives and neighbors who may work at non-union food processing plants. Tell them about the benefits of being a Teamster, and the security you enjoy with having a union contract. Our goal is to provide the security and strength of the Teamsters to as many of our brothers and sisters as possible. With your help and support, we will make that happen A Message from General President James P. Hoffa A Difficult Two Years We know that with Republicans now controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, we can expect policy changes that will threaten organized labor. This is what we can expect to see during the next two years: Easier confirmation of conservative appointments to the federal bench and to agencies that regulate our affairs, such as the National Labor Relations Board, the National Mediation Board and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; Additional unfair trade incentives for American employers to move production and jobs overseas; New efforts to privatize Social Security; and Attempts to weaken laws and regulations that protect workers rights and safety. The Teamsters Union is continuing to fight for justice, regardless of the political climate. We will not stand idly by and watch the clock be turned back. We will spare no effort to shield the gains we have made and protect the interests of our members. Remember, UNITED WE WIN! Fraternally, 2

3 Focus On Organizing Continued from page 1 division. The Food Processing Policy Committee is charged with boosting organizing among other things. Gegare reported that the Teamsters General Executive Board recently adopted a resolution that requires all contract settlements be submitted to the Regional Director for approval prior to ratification. This will stop substandard agreements. Also attending the meeting were Al Hobart, an International Vice President and President of Joint Council 28 in Seattle; Manny Valenzuela, Director of Organizing for the Western Region; John Souza, International Representative and Western Region Director for the Food Processing Policy Committee; and others. On the Front Line A program has been developed within each Joint Council to organize, Valenzuela said. A goal is to better target organizing campaigns so that a higher percentage are successful. We are on the front line in the battle to organize in Food Processing, as well as other departments, Hobart said of the organizers in attendance. The International has committed the resources to organize. We must protect our contracts and we must organize to survive. Employers are merging to buy each other out, Gegare said. We need to take advantage of this period of business acquisitions. We need to communicate more effectively among ourselves. The Food Processing Policy Committee will continue holding organizing workshops. The next meeting was held April 3 at Local 150 in Sacramento, California. Workshops will be held every three months. Cannery Council Delegates Prepare for 2003 Negotiations Continued from page 1 There are 34,000 Teamster workers in the state s cannery industry, and the delegates who attended included principal officers, business agents and stewards from the California locals who represent those workers. We cover a broad range from north to south in the cannery industry, said Ralph Ramirez, President of the Council. Ramirez said the council had not held this type of seminar in a few years, but the council wanted to make sure everyone had as much information as possible as the Teamsters prepare for major contract negotiations coming up in We have had an excellent seminar, said Sharon Mosley, a Business Agent from Local 748 in Modesto, California. Mosley said this was about her 10th of these seminars she has attended. It was one of the best I ve ever been to. There was a lot of interaction between the participants and the speakers, and a lot of questions answered. Workshop topics ranged from Investigating Grievances to Skills Training in the Workplace. Ramirez said one of the most valuable and informative aspects of the seminar is the fact that it covers such a wide variety of labor issues. He said there were even representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor and CAL- OSHA who came to talk to the group. From health and welfare to the contract negotiations coming up in 2003, this seminar has covered some important issues, Ramirez said. It s been a good experience for everyone. 3

4 View From the Strike Line 4 Members of Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville, Kentucky went on strike October 14, 2002 against Algood Foods. The peanut butter manufacturing plant in Louisville laid off 23 Teamsters in June 2002, and about 60 members worked at the plant before the strike began. The biggest issue remains management wanting to do bargaining-unit work, which is costing Teamster jobs, said Ken Lauersdorf, Trustee and Assistant to the President of the local. Local 89 has filed Unfair Labor Practice Charges against the company for failing to comply with an information request related to any permanent replacement workers hired during the current dispute. Local 89 also asserts that on or about December 3, 2002 the company failed to bargain in good faith when it introduced for the first time during negotiations that replacement workers would be replacing striking workers upon ratification of the collective bargaining agreement. The following is a letter from striking worker Mamie Talley, a 25-year member of Local 89: A Word of Thanks From the Picket Line By Mamie Talley The employees of Algood Foods have been on strike since October 14, We have withstood backstabbing co-workers who crossed our line, scab replacement workers, wind, rain, snow and ice. We walked on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years; we Norpac to Buy Vegetable Processing Plant Stayton, Oregon-based Norpac Foods Inc. has reached a tentative agreement to buy a J.R. Simplot Co. vegetable processing plant in Washington state that employs hundreds of Teamsters. Located about 30 miles east of Wenatchee, Washington, the plant was organized in 1995 by the Teamsters, and employs about 450 year-round and 585 seasonal workers. The plant packs frozen corn, peas, sugar snap peas, carrots and lima beans. Norpac is a grower-owned cooperative. walked through the worst winter weather Louisville has had in years. And we will keep on walking: for ourselves and for our Union. The outpouring of support from our Teamster brothers and sisters has been a great source of strength to us throughout this strike. From the first, the horn blowing of truckers and individuals, the victory signs, the friendly waves have energized us. Money poured in, which we gratefully used to buy tarps to cover us, meals to feed us. There is no way to express the warmth of a pot of soup on a cold winter night, or someone stopping by with doughnuts and coffee and a word of encouragement on Christmas morning. It seemed every week brought gifts of money from Teamster companies, gifts of food from retired Teamsters or their families. How often we ve heard My dad retired from Local 89 here, I hope it helps. Or My mother was a union workers for 30 years: you hang in there It is a difficult time for our union. Recent Supreme Court rulings and Republican support of Big Business have conspired to strip of us of our rights, protections and power. However, after these last months, I am convinced that the one thing they can never take from us is our unity: You, our brothers and sisters, have shown that. From the bottom of our hearts, from each and every one of us on the Algood picket line: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

5 Local 75 Strike Puts Company in a Pickle Member Unity Knocks Down Employer s Attempt at Concessions Strong member unity during a two-week strike at Kelly Pickle in Oconto, Wisconsin last year has laid the groundwork for negotiations for a new contract. The 38 workers who belong to Local 75 in Green Bay, Wisconsin went on strike after the employer sought a twotier wage structure during the fourth year of the old contract, which called for a wage reopener. The employer s proposal would have resulted in wage reductions of about $1.50 per hour. As a result, the workers went on strike last August in hopes of securing a living wage instead of seeing their paychecks drastically cut. The workers, who can pickles for retail sales and restaurants, targeted the busy canning season, noted Mike Thoms, a Business Representative at Local 75. We took them down at a crucial time, Thoms said. Our members were solid as a rock very unified. The two-week strike ended August 31, Instead of wage reductions of $1.50 an hour, the workers secured a wage increase of about 25 cents per hour. But that s only part of the story. At presstime, Local 75 was working on negotiating a new contract, and it hopes to build on the momentum from the strike. The strike laid the groundwork as we bargain the new contract, Thoms said. We re willing to strike again, and the owner knows that. He doesn t want to face another strike. We are still very united. I m optimistic we ll get a strong contract. Texas Teamsters Overwhelmingly Approve Contract at IBP Five-Year Pact Boosts Wages, Benefits By more than a 2-1 margin, members of Teamsters Local 577 in Amarillo, Texas who work at the IBP meat processing plant in that city ratified a five-year contract that provides higher wages and increased benefits. Overall, we made substantial improvements in several areas of the contract, said Rusty Stepp, Local 577 President. Local 577 members voted 1,512 to 716 to ratify the contract in late November, Members had earlier voted down a contract offer, but the latter offer was much improved, Stepp noted. The new contract provides numerous gains. They include: Wage increases of $1.35 over five years for workers in the slaughter and hides division, plus a $200 ratification bonus; Wage increases of $1.45 over five years for workers in the processing division, plus a $200 ratification bonus; Immediate raises of 55 cents to $2.15 per hour for Production workers; Immediate raises of 65 cents to $2.45 per hour for Maintenance workers; Improved health care coverage, including first-time vision coverage and long-term disability coverage; Improved funeral leave to cover deaths of grandchildren; 12-hour limit on the number of hours an employee can be required to work (unless workers choose to work longer); Improved rest period language; An additional week of vacation from three to four weeks for employees with 20 years seniority; and The addition of Tyson Foods stock purchase plan. I want to thank the tireless efforts of our negotiating committee, Stepp said. We had 14 rank-and-file members on the 18-member committee. They worked really hard on this contract. 5

6 A Look Back In the 1940s the Teamsters were faced with two major tasks in the food processing industry. The first was organization. The second was helping to insure products sold to consumers contained safe, high quality foods. Despite promotional photos of smiling, energetic workers, the life of an employee in the food processing industry in the early 1940s was anything but happy. The workers received low wages, generally 30 to 35 cents an hour, 12 hours a day, seven days a week in hot, unsanitary conditions. Little attention was paid to their situation because they were mostly seasonal workers, often moving frequently. While many workers belonged to federal unions a local chartered directly by the AF of L there was no national group, or much oversight of the industry as a whole. Local unions were often more interested in raising a ruckus with no apparent aim than seeing to the needs of the members. The Teamsters began a vigorous organizing campaign in late 1944, winning 33,000 new members by During the following years great strides were made in job classifications, piecework, equal pay for women, seniority, and benefits. The 1940s also saw a major battle waged against Morgan Packing Company, a major food processing plant located in Indiana. The company admitted in federal court to packing and selling rotten fruit, causing the deaths of several customers, and very unacceptable factory conditions. However, the company continued to do a brisk business retaining several large contracts including the U.S. Army. The Teamsters went to work against Morgan Packing, providing information to consumers, organizing boycotts, and lambasting the company at every opportunity in the Teamster magazine. World War II brought additional power to the campaign as direct appeals were made to the wives and mothers of brave soldiers forced to eat rotten food. The pressure was kept up throughout the war years until finally significant changes were made at the company, which positively affected the industry as a whole as well. 6 Packing A Wallop Local 542 in San Diego Adds 160 New Members From Meatpacking Plant Workers at Brawley Beef in the Imperial Valley east of San Diego voted by a more than 2-1 margin last September in favor of joining Teamsters Local 542 and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 135. The joint organizing campaign between the Teamsters and the UFCW successfully brought representation to a predominantly Hispanic workforce that was chronically underpaid and mistreated. These workers stood up for their rights and as a result they have energized the entire labor community here in San Diego, said Phil Saal, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 542. (UFCW Local 135 President) Norm Bell was an excellent partner in the campaign and showed we can work together effectively. The 700-member workforce at Brawley Beef is expected to expand to around 1,000 workers in the future.