Vol. 72/No. 21      May 26, 2008

Workers saw the vote as a way to tell the company they want a better contract. About 60 percent of those eligible to vote participated. Many others did not bother to cast a vote because everyone was sure of the outcome.

After the vote count Don Seaquist, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 789, which represents the workers at Dakota Premium, announced there would be a second contract vote and strike authorization on May 14.

As we go to press, Local 789 members accepted the second contract offer. (See box on front page.)

The May 7 “no” vote led to increased discussions among workers about the next steps in their fight. Workers decided to put out their weekly newsletter, The Workers’ Voice, which was distributed at work on May 12, to coincide with a negotiating session between the union and the company.

“Last week, with a 96 percent ‘no’ vote, we told the bosses we don’t accept their insulting contract ‘offer,’” the newsletter said. “We’ve stated over and over the main things we want:

“1) 50 cents a year raise, including 50 cents back pay raise to July 2007 in a four-year contract that includes 2007.

“2) We propose including in the contract that the line speed does not go over 96 cows an hour. Since the company has said the line is kept at 94 to 96 cows, they have no reason not to agree.

“3) No increase in medical costs.”

The Workers’ Voice encouraged workers to vote for strike authorization on May 14 in order to give the union leadership, in collaboration with the membership, the ability to call a strike if necessary. “This tells the company we will not let the negotiations drag out and [that we] want what we deserve,” the newsletter said.

It also pointed to the rising costs of gas, milk, and other basic necessities workers face. “With the approximately $1 raise over the 5 years of the last contract, we can buy much less today than we could in 2002. Let’s stop going backwards and win a decent raise!”

The Workers’ Voice also reported several examples given by workers of company abuse and worsening working conditions. These included a supervisor pushing a worker, a worker being denied his request to work a lighter job after returning from back surgery, and several recent injuries.

Workers were also outraged at another instance during a power outage on May 8 in which kill-floor workers were forced to wait outside in the cold for more than three hours without food or drink after working the entire day—more than 13 hours total.

Stephanie Flowers, a young African American worker at the plant, was one of the workers who voted against the company’s contract proposal May 7. She explained that when she was hired last July she hardly knew what a union was but she said the company helped her learn. “The ‘no’ vote showed support for the union and that we are standing up for ourselves. We’re fed up with the treatment,” said Flowers.

Julian Santana is a member of UFCW Local 789 and a kill-floor worker at Dakota Premium Foods. Ernest Mailhot contributed to this article.  
 
 
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