The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 71/No. 37      October 8, 2007

 
Minnesota meat packers
demand access to union reps
 
BY REBECCA WILLIAMSON  
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minnesota—“When it comes to your rights, you can’t be afraid,” said Salvador Sosa, who works on the cut side at the Dakota Premium Foods slaughterhouse here. “You have to abandon your fears to fight for your rights.”

Sosa is one of the union activists in the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 789 fighting a company-led decertification campaign at Dakota. Workers say they are pressing for safer working conditions, better wages, and dignity on the job. They won union representation in 2000, following a struggle that included a seven-hour sit-down strike. It took two more years to force the company to agree to a contract, which expired in June of this year.

A delegation of workers went to the office on their break September 19 to demand that management allow union representatives and shop stewards access to their members in the plant. They also demanded the company negotiate a new contract and stop harassing union supporters.

“Dakota Premium is the ONLY Employer in our Union of 7,500 members where we can’t talk to members in their workplace,” said a leaflet distributed by Local 789 on September 24.

The local organized a rally outside the plant September 19 to press the same demands.

Jesús García, a worker on the deboning side, explained how management acted to prevent workers from joining or even viewing the rally. “They were pushing all the people that way,” he said, pointing to a road away from where the action took place. “They didn’t let us leave through the main exit, it was closed.” The company also put a crew of management outside and on the roof. The human resources manager was taking photos. A number of union activists attended the rally. The TV station KARE 11 showed the action on the evening news that night. Dakota workers were interviewed by Workday Minnesota, a state labor publication.

A week earlier, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) approved a company-backed petition for a decertification election. The election will be held at least 60 days from the date of the announcement.

According to Local 789 representative Rafael Espinosa, several charges must be resolved before the election can take place. “Both sides need to negotiate and agree for the date of the decertification vote after the 60 days,” he said.

Rebecca Williamson is a trimmer at Dakota Premium Foods and a member of UFCW Local 789.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home