The Earthgrains Company (NYSE: EGR) announced today that after a three-day marathon bargaining session with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) talks are on hold with company proposals on the table for Mobile, Ala., and the Southeast region pattern (Fort Payne, Ala.).
The company has put forth fair proposals that will benefit employees and will keep Earthgrains competitive in its markets. Earthgrains has asked that the union allow employees to vote on the proposals, giving them a say on whether to get back to work.
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Meanwhile in California, Earthgrains has reached an agreement for a new five-year contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents 735 route sales representatives and other transport employees — one of the company’s largest bargaining units. Ratification votes on the new contract were being held today (Sunday). The contract would succeed the current contract set to expire Sept. 30.
The BCTGM talks have been under way off-and-on since Sept. 7 with the help of a federal mediator. The company asked the union last week to consider a 30-day cooling-off period during which employees would return to work, the company would retroactively reinstate medical benefits, and both sides would continue to negotiate. The offer was turned down.
Striking production workers have forfeited more than $4.5 million in wages since the strike began Aug. 26 in Fort Payne, Ala., where employees have given up more than $1 million in wages.
Earthgrains has about 3,000 union production employees at 26 bakeries on strike or honoring sympathy picket lines. Another 850 union production employees are reporting to work as scheduled at the affected bakeries. More than 50 percent of BCTGM production employees are working at bakeries in Mobile, Ala.; Atlanta; Memphis; Dallas and Paris, Texas, and Meridian, Miss.
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By GlobalDataThe latest bakeries to be impacted by sympathy picket lines are Springfield, Mo. (Sept. 16), Rockford, Ill. (Sept. 13), Grand Junction, Colo. (Sept. 13), and Dubuque, Iowa (Sept. 12). Production continues at all four, as well as at 20 of the 22 other facilities.
The company is serving all markets and is operating all of its distribution and sales operations. The strike is having its greatest impact in California where less than half of customer demand is being met. In the Southeast, where the strike began, there has been strong union employee turnout for work, and there has been little market impact with more than 90 percent of customer needs being met.
The Teamster contract in California is the second agreement to be reached during the production employees’ strike. The company also reached a new contract Sept. 1 with BCTGM production workers in Rockford. The company has also reached agreements in the past 90 days with production workers at 10 other bakeries and with employees at 12 other locations, such as thrift stores and depots.
Strike Background
Primary strikes are under way at nine bakeries: Fort Payne and Mobile, Ala.; Memphis, Chattanooga, and Nashville, Tenn.; Atlanta; Louisville, Ky.; Chicago; and Des Moines, Iowa. The Chattanooga and Des Moines bakeries are not being operated.
Sympathy picket lines have been established at 16 other bakeries — Meridian, Miss.; Owensboro, Ky.; Dallas and Paris, Texas; Oakland, Stockton, Sacramento and Fresno, Calif.; Milwaukee; Oklahoma City; Denver and Grand Junction, Colo.; Wichita, Kan.; Dubuque, Iowa; Rockford, Ill.; and Springfield, Mo.
A secondary strike is under way at Earthgrains’ refrigerated-dough plant in Forest Park, Ga., which operates as part of a separate division and has a current contract.
About Earthgrains
Earthgrains is the second-largest packaged bread and baked goods producer in the United States with 64 bakeries in the South, Southeast, Midwest, Upper Midwest, Southwest and West. The company also operates two plants that make canned refrigerated dough, toaster pastries and other products.
More information on the company may be found on Earthgrains’ corporate web site at www.earthgrains.com.
