On Wednesday, March 26, your Bargaining Committee met with representatives from McCain Foods for the first bargaining session, working toward your new Union contract for all bargaining unit employees working at McCain Foods.
During our first session we made proposals in several key areas, including language related to:
- Reducing how many times a week you can be drafted
- Ensuring your employer clearly posts changes to your schedule
- Improving how holidays are observed for 8-hour employees
- Increasing reimbursement of tools
- Adding more employer-provided apparel
- Adding voluntary Political Dues Checkoff
- Expanding Bereavement Leave
- Empowering Safety Committees
- Cementing a process for investigating workplace incidents and/or injuries
- Creating a sick leave bank
- Establishing some minimum staffing levels and making shift trades fairer
Your employer presented more than a dozen opening proposals–nearly all of which are takeaways–including a proposal to eliminate half of the bargaining committee from the Union, along with dozens of other members as well. This would eliminate those members’ healthcare, guarantee of wages, just cause for discipline, and so much more. Finally, despite claiming to take the safety of workers seriously, your employer did not provide any proposals to make McCain Foods a safer place for you to work.
The production at McCain Foods in Burley, Idaho, relies directly on the hard work and dedication of you, the workers. You are the backbone of their operation! Without you, there is no McCain Foods. Your Bargaining Committee is determined to secure for you better wages, stronger benefits, and safer working conditions that properly value the daily work you put in and ensure your well-being. We will continue to fight tirelessly at the bargaining table, and your solidarity and support will be crucial in achieving the contract you deserve.
Our next bargaining sessions are scheduled for April 15 and April 16. We will update you after the completion of our next bargaining session.
