The proposed contract would cut wages, increase health-care costs, eliminate pen sions, and cut sick leave and vacations.

The workers are members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 538. They had been working under contract extensions since June last year. In January, the company gave the union a 30-day notice, stating that it would terminate the extensions on February 25.

Two days before the deadline the workers voted by 400 votes to 9 to reject the proposed contract and to strike.

The plant produces sausages, lunch meats, and hot dogs. Tyson Foods acquired the plant in 2001. With 120,000 employees at 300 plants in 29 states and 22 countries, Tyson is the largest processor and marketer of chicken, pork, and beef in the world.

Strikers staffing the picket line on March 8, a cold and snowy Saturday, said that the company’s demands--dubbed the "ten commandments"--went beyond what they were prepared to concede. "We had to let them know, we can’t take that," said Jerry Staude, who has worked there for 28 years.

The company’s demands would set up a two-tier pay scale cutting hourly rates for new hires from $11.09 to $9.00, and freezing pay for others over a four-year period; eliminate pensions for new hires and freeze benefits for the rest; increase health-care premiums by as much as $40 a week and eliminate health-care supplements for retirees; cut sick leave and disability benefits by more than half; reduce maximum vacation by two weeks and eliminate two paid holidays for new hires; and remove rights to severance pay if the plant closes.

"Like most everyone else, I’m working for my future," said Debra Prust, a machine operator with 17 years in the plant. "And Tyson is trying to take that away."

"When Tyson met our negotiating committee, they couldn’t believe the seniority rights we had there," said Ron Krause, 57. "They’re used to running operations with 200 percent and more turnover." He said that he and about 30 others felt forced to accept retirement in the last week instead of working until 65, due to the threatened reductions in benefits. All of these forced retirees "are coming by and helping out on the picket lines," he said.

"The community support has been unbelievable," said Ken Frank, picket captain, who has 22 years in the plant. "People are coming by all the time, picketing with us, bringing food." Consulting his clip board, he said, "We’ve had folks from at least a dozen unions--steelworkers, teachers, machinists, Southeast Wisconsin AFL-CIO. They have come by from other meatpacking plants in Madison, and Fort Atkinson." He mentioned visitors from towns four to five hours away.

"The union electricians who had a contract doing the electrical work in the plant have honored our picket lines. That work has stopped," said Randy Latsch, who works in the kitchen and has 29 years in the plant.

The company is attempting to run production with management and office staff and a few dozen people bussed in from Beloit, a town about an hour south. Strikers say that so far they seem to be only packing and shipping out the inventory produced before the strike. The gates are monitored by video cameras, but workers report no incidents to date.

Homemade signs supporting the strikers can be seen throughout the town in car windows, storefronts, front yards, and living room windows.

The Jefferson plant is located in rolling southeastern Wisconsin farm country, and several of the strikers own land they can’t afford to farm. Jerry Staude is one of those. He pointed to the importance of their fight to other working people, especially workers in meatpacking plants in other states. "We’re pretty sure we’ll be out here for a while because the company won’t budge," he said. "We know we may not even get back in, but this isn’t only for us. Anyone else could be next."

The Wisconsin AFL-CIO invites supporters of UFCW 538 to a plant gate rally, Sunday March 16 at 1:30 pm. Directions available at www.wisaflcio.org.

Pattie Thompson is a sewing machine operator in Chicago and member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE.)  
 
 
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