As stewards, we understand that our ability to negotiate with our employers comes from the power of our numbers. When more of us stick together and stand up for our rights, our voice is stronger and workers have more strength at the bargaining table to negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions.
We know that power in numbers is more than just a union adage — it’s actually reflected in our wages and benefits. On average, union meatpacking workers make 15% more than nonunion meatpacking workers. And in socalled right-to-work states, where workers don’t automatically belong to our union, average pay is 10% less than in other union plants. Wages in these types of plants correlate with membership: fewer members mean lower wages. Fortunately, the correlation works both ways: with more union members, workers earn higher wages. And when workers in one plant join a union, that tends to raise the bar on wages and working conditions not just for themselves — but for workers in nearby plants that compete for the same pool of employees.
That’s why it’s important to all meat packing and food processing workers that more people are joining our union. During October and November, nearly 4,000 workers who work for National Beef in Dodge City, Kansas, Farmland Foods in Carroll, Iowa, Nebraska Prime in Hastings, Nebraska, and JBS in Plainwell, Michigan voted to join the UFCW for a union voice on the job.
These new members will give each and every one of us a stronger voice when we bring our concerns to the companies and it will force management to really listen to workers. When companies know that they are dealing with a small number of workers, it’s easier to ignore worker requests at the bargaining table and disregard safety and dignity on the job.
Clemente Torres, a steward and a 9-year veteran at the Cargill meatpacking plant in Dodge City, Kansas knows this well. He works across the street from the National Beef plant where workers just voted to join his union, and he played a key role in organizing the workers there. “In my 9 years as steward I’ve seen our membership increase because workers can see what being united can do. Many Cargill workers worked at National Beef previously, or have relatives or spouses working there now. They understand the real difference is the power workers have during negotiations. If we are a stronger union with more members, we will be able to negotiate better benefits,” Torres says. “National Beef andCargill are Dodge City’s biggest employers. Now that workers in both places are union members, we have thousands of workers speaking together with one voice to raise the bar for working standards in the whole community.”
For workers, our bargaining power is measured two ways: by the number of union members in our individual plants, and by the number of union members in the entire meatpacking and food processing industry. If you work for a union company that operates non-union plants, talk to your co-workers about how non union operations bring your wages down. And ask your manager why your company insists on operating non-union.
If new workers at your plant don’t automatically become UFCW members, tell them you belong to the UFCW and explain to them that the company doesn’t simply provide better wages, benefits, and vacation days but they’re a result of bargaining with workers— union members like yourself.
