| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 8, 2002 |
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New UFCW Contract Means More For Mountaire Poultry Workers Poultry workers at Mountaire of Delmarva, Inc. in Selbyville, Del. rang in the new year with a new union contract. The workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 27, overwhelmingly ratified a new three year agreement that brings significant gains for the more than 940 workers and their families. The union contract improves general wages for workers by 4.3% each year. In certain job classifications, wages increase by over 12%. The contract also strengthens the workers' health and welfare fund and makes it possible for workers to become eligible for two weeks of paid vacation starting at four years of employment, rather than five years. More than 80% of Mountaire employees are immigrants, including Haitian, Asian and Latino workers. Immigrant workers are protected from abuse and discrimination in the new contract with unprecedented new contract language. Also, workers have the opportunity to take up to 30 days unpaid funeral leave for situations that involve long-distance travel to attend services. UFCW Local 27 also won the right to provide additional orientation training for new hires and greater in-plant representation for workers. Last year, the workers faced down attempts to get rid of union representation by voting overwhelmingly to maintain their union status. The union election win and subsequent contract ratification sends a strong signal to the 5,000 non-union poultry workers in the Delmarva. "Union representation makes any poultry plant a better place to work. Clearly, this new contract at Mountaire should make poultry workers in the area sit up and take notice of how they can take action to improve their workplace with the UFCW," said Mark Lauritsen, UFCW Regional Director, Mid-Atlantic Region. Local 27 also represents poultry processing members at Perdue-Showell, Tyson-Berlin, Allens-Harbeson and Hurlock, and Perdue Live Haul-Milford. UFCW Local 27 represents 26,000 members in Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. United Food and Commercial Workers Union: A Voice for Working America-www.ufcw.org |
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