PAGE 8 | February 21, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
...Nabisco signs IAM and IBEW contract, but still no deal for Bakers
From Page 1
turnover that of the six original
management negotiators, only
one was still there at the end.
The final session, brokered by
federal mediator Darrell Clark,
lasted 9 a.m. to midnight.
What made the difference?
Machinists chief steward Jeff
Obermiller says without ques-
tion it was members demon-
strating to the company that they
were ready to strike. When
Mondelēz said its offer wouldn’t
get any better, the two unions
took it back to members. They
rejected it, and voted unani-
mously to authorize a strike. In
the weeks that followed, work-
ers blew whistles on the way in
and out of work, and arrived at
work wearing union T-shirts.
Machinists’ shirts pictured a
coiled cobra over the union logo
along with the words: “If pro-
voked I may strike.” Electri-
cians’ shirts said, “Lightning
makes no sound … until it
strikes!” Machinists also ended
their shifts by lining up their
massive wheeled tool boxes
near the building exit, to make it
clear they were ready to roll on
out if a strike was called. The
unions also sought support from
the rest of the labor movement
… and got strike sanction from
the Metal Trades Council of
READY TO ROLL ON OUT: At the Portland Mondelēz-Nabisco plant, union
machinists lined up their toolboxes near the exit in preparation for a strike.
Portland and Vicinity and the
Northwest Oregon Labor Coun-
cil. That support meant that if
and when they struck, not only
might the machines begin to
sputter, but product might have
trouble getting out of the plant
with picket lines turning back
Teamster drivers.
What they won
For the Machinists, the new
contract contains an immediate
wage increase of 9%, bringing
the base wage from $30.30 to
$33.12 an hour. They’ll also get
backpay checks of over $4,000
As presidential contenders
battle for the nomination,
a few unions are weighing in
With so many Democrats – including a
number of union allies – seeking the
Democratic presidential nomination, most
labor organizations haven’t taken sides so
far. But two candidates have gotten at least
a few endorsements:
AFL-CIO TOWN HALL
The AFL-CIO will host a
2020 presidential candidate
forum on March 12, 2020 in
Orlando, Florida.
JOE BIDEN
■ Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)
■ International Association of Bridge Structural Ornamental
and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IW)
■ International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
■ International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
■ American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
BERNIE SANDERS
■ American Postal Workers Union (APWU)
■ National Nurses Union (NNU)
■ National Union of Health Care Workers (NUCHW)
■ United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE)
for wage increases that should
have taken place earlier—2%
annual raises dating back to Jan.
1, 2018. The new contract also
maintains the existing Monday-
to-Friday schedule of eight-hour
shifts with paid breaks, plus
time and a half for Saturday
work, double time on Sunday,
and the right to choose up to 26
weekends a year when they
can’t be scheduled. And it main-
tains current health benefits,
commits the company to con-
tinue full participation in the
union-sponsored Western Metal
Industry Pension Fund, and
commits to a set timeline for re-
sponding to union grievances.
Machinist members did make
one concession, ceding the work
of lubricating equipment to their
somewhat lower-paid co-work-
ers in Bakers Local 364. But
that shift won’t result in layoffs,
and Mondelēz also committed
to hiring a new machinist to go
through an apprenticeship pro-
gram that has had no new en-
trants lately.
Machinists rep Bob Petroff,
himself a former Nabisco ma-
chinist, says Mondelēz has had
a hard time finding outside ma-
chinists who are qualified to
maintain and repair bakery
equipment.
For electricians, the new con-
tract locks in a $10,000 wage in-
crease that was agreed to earlier
in bargaining. Bridges says the
union repeatedly warned Mon-
delēz that its $30.30 hourly
wage for maintenance electri-
cians had fallen way behind the
market, and would lead to the
loss of electricians. When the
plant’s electrical workforce
plummeted from nine to two,
the company got the message.
Machinists and electricians
together ratified an interim
memorandum raising the wage
to $40.80 for maintenance elec-
tricians. That’s still much lower
than construction electricians
make, but Mondelēz electricians
get paid vacation and year-
round indoor work.
The new contracts expire
Dec. 31, 2020.
Bakers still in contract limbo
Meanwhile, about 210 members
of Bakery, Confectionery, To-
bacco and Grain Millers
(BCTGM) Local 364 at the
Portland plant are still working
under a mix of expired union
contract language and terms im-
posed unilaterally by the com-
pany. BCTGM’s most recent na-
tional contract—covering 2,000
Mondelēz employees at five
U.S. plants and three distribu-
tion centers—expired Feb. 29,
2016. In May 2018, Mondelēz
declared impasse in negotiations
and unilaterally implemented
parts of its own offer: raising
wages 2.25% a year, halting
contributions to the union-spon-
sored pension fund, and starting
contributions to a 401(k) in-
stead. Mondelēz is still honoring
some of the old contract’s terms,
and it hasn’t implemented other
parts of its final offer such as
less generous health insurance
terms or ending premium pay
for weekend work. The contract
the two sides were supposed to
be negotiating would have been
set to expire March 1. It’s not
clear what will happen after that.