Union probes wages at Jennie-O
Saturday, November 15, 2003 By Peter Cox, Staff Writer
WILLMAR -- Willmar isn’t known as a union town.

“It has not been a hotbed of union activity,” said John Remington, professor of industrial relations at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Remington is familiar with the history of unions in Minnesota and he hasn’t heard much about Willmar other than the Willmar 8, the more commonly known name for the Willmar Bank Employees Association formed in 1977.

But the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 789 is looking to change the town’s reputation. They opened an office here last summer, and last week, they made public that they are paying a law firm to bring a lawsuit against Jennie-O Turkey Store that alleges workers haven’t been paid properly.

Antonio Tejeda, an attorney with Anderson, Larson, Hanson and Saunders of Willmar, said he’s been collecting information from workers that he claims shows Jennie-O has been slighting people on their pay.

Tejeda asserts that the plant doesn’t pay workers for the time they spend putting on and taking off safety equipment necessary for the work. He said these tasks take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes a day.

No papers have yet been filed, though attorneys with the law firm say they will likely be filed within 30 days.

Union representative Jennifer Christensen said they decided to fund the lawsuit in hopes of showing workers what a union can do for them. She did not say specifically if they were using the lawsuit in order to make joining the union more popular.

“We want to help the workers of Jennie-O have a process for solving these problems,” Christensen said. She said they want to give protection for the workers and “show that we are there and actively working for the workers.”

Tejeda said similar cases have settled in favor of workers at IBP and Tyson Foods.

According to Juan Solano, a spokesman with the Office of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Labor, a lawsuit filed by the Department of Labor against Tyson in 2002 was successful.

Solano said the Fair Labor Standards Act is the law cited in cases involving putting on or taking off work gear.

Tejeda did not say how much money an average worker might receive if the lawsuit were successful. A statute of limitations limits recovery of wages to three years back.

A Jennie-O spokesman said the company had not been contacted about the lawsuit.

“We are aware that there has been discussion about the issue, but we have not been contacted,” said Dave Juhlke, vice president for human resources and administration.

When asked to comment on the wage issue the union has raised, Juhlke said he would not because he does not know exactly what is being alleged.

“I guess I can’t speculate,” he said.

When asked about the company’s thoughts on the possibility of a union being formed, he answered, “I’m not going to comment on union organizing.”

According to a current worker and 20-year veteran of the plant who attended an informational meeting on the lawsuit, the prospect of bringing a union into the plant is becoming more popular among employees. The man would not give his name.

“I think it’s a good deal,” he said.

Interest in the lawsuit has also been strong, Tejeda said, though he wouldn’t say how many workers had signed up.Christensen said she has seen support from workers and community members. She did not give numbers on how many workers had shown interest in organizing.

Christensen said the union is also looking to unionize the Jennie-O plant in Melrose.

According to Professor Remington, there are new challenges for organizing.

“The labor movement has become much more diverse and much more ethnic than it has in the past,” he said.

Because of this, unions, which historically were white and male, have begun targeting groups they hadn’t: immigrants and women.

“Unions that have aggressively sought minorities and women have grown,” Remington said.

The number of transient workers that are working in the meat processing industry has also changed organizing.

“It makes it real difficult for unions,” he said. “(Unions) do better with a stable work force.”

Still, adaptations have been made and Remington maintains union objectives haven’t changed much.

Though employees at Jennie-O rejected going union in 1981, 1988 and 1991 with the Teamsters and UCFW, among others, the lawsuit could corral more interest in organizing.

Remington said when a union comes to a town to organize at a company, they are usually certain there is high interest in the plant.

“Generally, the union won’t fool with it unless there is some self-organization and interest at the plant,” he said.