Tuesday, November 16, 2004 -
If the 2,300 workers at the Swift and Co. meat processing plant in Greeley turn down a contract proposal Saturday, there will be a strike.
The Swift plant is the nation's second largest, supplying beef to grocery stores across the country.
The workers' contract expires at midnight Saturday, and Dave Minshall, spokesman for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, said the workers will walk out if an agreement isn't reached.
"Talks are going nowhere," he said Monday. Negotiations are ongoing this week.
Swift has a policy of not discussing labor negotiations, said Jim Herlihy, vice president of communications for the company.
"We are optimistic that an agreement will be reached," he said.
The proposed contract asks workers to make concessions in time off, health-care costs and overtime pay.
"They feel they should be rewarded for their hard work instead of being penalized," said Ernest Duran, president of the UFCW Local 7. "The workers are very united."
Some of the contract changes the workers disagree with are:
Taking away overtime pay from workers who put in more than eight hours a day. The workers would still get overtime if they log more than 40 hours in a week.
An increase in health-insurance premiums and co-payments, despite decreases in coverage.
Elimination of "wellness days," which are days off granted to workers for each 70 days of perfect attendance.
Elimination of 15 unpaid personal days a year.
Another key issue for workers is a plan by the company to cut the minimum work week by four hours, said Fernando Rodriquez, union director for the plant.
Currently, the company can reduce employees' schedules to 32 hours a week for up to 13 weeks. Under the new contract, that could be changed to 28 hours for up to 26 weeks.
"They can't expect people to work half a year on 28 hours and survive," Rodriquez said.
Duran said the Swift negotiations are the same scenario as the contract negotiations between grocery workers and King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons, which have been going on over the last several months.
"Working people are getting less and less," Duran said.
He said companies are, in effect, telling workers: "We want you to do more, and we want you to do more with less."
Duran said the major difference between the grocery and Swift contract proposals is that Swift offers no justification for its cuts. The grocers point to competition from non-union mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart for their cutbacks.
Posted by UFCW 227 at November 17, 2004 11:16 AM