Cargill, one of the largest beef processors in North America, locked out 1,700 members of Teamsters Local 455 in Fort Morgan, Colorado, May 20. The lockout came hours after the union voted 1,388 to 252 to reject a five-year contract that offered a measly total of $2.15 an hour in raises and little to alleviate dangerous working conditions.
AS WE GO TO PRESS…
“The company has held its employees — many from Haiti, Somalia and Central and South American countries — hostage to a substandard contract offer that provides little change or improvement,” Local 455 Secretary-Treasurer Dean Modecker told the media.
“We will be out here every day making our voices heard,” maintenance worker Chris Bell said in a union press release. To find out more or to join the picket line, contact Teamster Local 455 at 423 Main Street, Suite 100, Fort Morgan, CO 80701, or email LMelentijevic@teamster.org.