[>>>Note: This story updates an earlier story on the Viscofan strike.]
Viscofan has released a statement after more than 200 union employees went on strike against the Danville plant on Friday morning. The company says it is disappointed that its contract offer was rejected by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 686. ”The parties are in the process of negotiating a new three year labor agreement which includes wage increases, a plant efficiency plan that pays a monthly performance bonus, and a signing bonus of $1,000 upon ratification of a new agreement,” said the company’s statement. It added the company believes it has made a reasonable offer.
”We hope that this labor dispute will be short lived,” added the Viscofan statement. ”Meanwhile the company has implemented its’ contingency plan to keep servicing the market,” it added.
The union also released a new statement late Friday. In it UFCW Local 686 President Tim Miller said workers have earned and deserve the better wages they need to support their families. ”When a company like Viscofan succeeds, its workers and the communities they serve should succeed as well,” he added. And the union added the company’s latest proposal includes:
— No wage increases for the first year.
— New, mandatory overtime forcing workers to abandon their families and come into work at a moment’s notice.
— Additional mandated on-call time for maintenance workers that prevents them from fully participating in their community.
— And new, random and intrusive drug testing.
Over 200 union employees at Danville’s Viscofan plant remain on strike after walking out early Friday (June 21st, 2019) after negotiations failed to reach a new contract. The workers are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 686.
Union vice president Robbie Greenburg says there had been 18 negotiating sessions with the company during which concerns about mandatory overtime had been discussed.…
The company manufactures casings which are used to package meat, such as hot dogs and sausage.
Mabel Sanchez (shown here), a quality analyst at Viscofan, was also walking the picket line. She, too, is concerned about mandatory overtime….
Money is also an issue. The union claims Viscofan is more focused on profits for their Spanish shareholders than investing in hard working employees in Danville. The union notes Viscofan generated $880-million dollars in revenue during 2017.
[Union employees man a picket line outside Danville’s Viscofan plant early Friday, June 21, 2019. (*Note: You can click on the photos to enlarge them.]
The company had no immediate comment after the strike began, except to say that it would have a statement later.
