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Vol. 72/No. 10      March 10, 2008

 
Minnesota meat packers demand
access in plant to union reps
(front page)
 
BY JULIAN SANTANA  
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minnesota, February 25—“This only strengthens our resolve to win the right in our new contract to have our representatives come into the plant—not once a month—but whenever we want them to,” says the latest issue of the Workers’ Voice. The newsletter, put out by workers at the Dakota Premium Foods slaughterhouse here, is referring to the bosses’ refusal to allow three union representatives to enter the plant’s cafeteria the day before.

“It’s a tactic to keep us from reaching all our members,” said United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 789 representative Rafael Espinosa.

According to the union contract, which is expired but remains binding until a new agreement is approved, union representatives have the right to enter the plant and talk to their members once a month. Management allowed Espinosa, Doug Mork, and Miguel Gutiérrez to meet with them about grievances and walk through the plant, but not to enter the cafeteria. It’s only in the cafeteria during the lunch breaks where the union reps could have talked to workers.

“They know they lost and the members won the union,” said Espinosa. “This is aimed not only at the contract negotiations but everything. They don’t want the workers to be represented.”

Since the workers defeated a company-backed union decertification election a month ago management has launched an all-out offensive. Unionists have filed more than a dozen grievances against the company, including many over workers who have been fired.

The big majority of the fired workers are Black and newer on the job. Some workers have commented how this fits into the bosses’ efforts to divide workers along racial and national lines and weaken the union.

Solomon Thomas-El, a worker who is Black, was fired a second time after being harassed and taken to the office several times in one week. Thomas was especially hated by the bosses because he won his job back a few weeks ago after using the union to prove racist discrimination against him by a supervisor. This victory was featured in an earlier Workers’ Voice and applauded by a number of workers at Dakota.

To better stand up to the company assault, the unionists have increased the number of shop stewards on the floor. Several were chosen at a recent union meeting. Workers are also putting together a negotiating committee that will start meeting with the company on February 29 to discuss a new contract. Unionists will be discussing the issues they want to put on the bargaining table at their next meeting.

Julian Santana is a kill floor worker at Dakota Premium Foods and a member of UFCW Local 789.  
 
 
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