On April 8 some 600 striking members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1540 voted to ratify the most recent contract proposal. The workers accepted the new offer by a 99 percent majority, according to the Rochelle News-Leader.

The wage increases will be 40 cents the first year, 30 cents the second year, 20 cents the third year, and 25 cents for each of the remaining two years. By the end of the contract, wages will be at $11.55 an hour.

As of April 4, reports the News-Leader, "an end to the strike looked remote. In a Rochelle Foods press release from that day, Plant Manager Cal Jacobs said the company would be standing behind the previous offer of 85 cents over four years." This was only a token increase over the 70 cents an hour over four years offered in February when the previous contract expired, an offer that was rejected by the workers.

Many said the company's original wage increases would be canceled out by increased deductions for health benefits. Rochelle Foods is a hog slaughtering and processing plant that employs 870 workers.

In the days leading up to the settlement, 26 UFCW locals in the United States and Canada sent $125,000 in donations, and Rochelle strikers were working with locals in such packing centers as Austin, Minnesota, to organize plant-gate collections to further strengthen the fight.

At a solidarity picnic attended by 100 people last weekend, workers pointed to the contributions, a food bank set up by strikers, and the union hardship fund as important signs of union solidarity. A March 29 press release from the local said, "The hardship fund will assist workers with critical bills or other life-sustaining expenses during the strike."

Pedro Vargas, a worker for six years at Rochelle Foods, pointed to the importance of such solidarity. "It meant a lot to all of us on the picket line to know that other UFCW members cared about our struggle. Our lines stayed strong and morale was high, thanks to the strong support from the community and our union brothers and sisters."

Workers on the picket line pointed to the fight against humiliating treatment by the bosses, pressure by the company to work when injured, and speedup on the job as important aspects of their struggle. Most of the production workers at the plant are Latino.

In a news release, Bill Schmitz, UFCW vice president and packinghouse director, said, "Packinghouse workers across the country can look to the Rochelle workers as role models for solidarity, courage, and commitment." The strikers had maintained spirited picketing at the plant 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Arrin Hawkins and Joel Britton are meat packers and members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 100A in Chicago.  
 
 
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