{"id":1500,"date":"2009-12-11T12:56:43","date_gmt":"2009-12-11T17:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ufcw.org\/?p=1500"},"modified":"2020-09-09T14:12:39","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T14:12:39","slug":"unity-makes-the-difference-for-americold-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/unity-makes-the-difference-for-americold-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Unity Makes the Difference for Americold Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the election results were posted, Gene Muff was relieved and happy. He knew it was a time to celebrate, because change was coming to his plant.<br>\nMuff, a member of UFCW Local 271, works at an Americold Logistics plant in Crete, Nebraska. Last summer, workers at his plant voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first ever union contract, which provides them with solid wages and benefit increases.<br>\nMuff has been involved with the UFCW since the beginning of the organizing campaign.<br>\n\u201cI told my coworkers we needed to join the union so we would get better treatment at the plant. That when we are united we are stronger, so that way they couldn\u2019t bully us around anymore,\u201d he said.<br>\nAfter workers voted in favor of having union representation, Muff joined the bargaining committee. With the help of the UFCW, workers at the plant fought to get the best possible contract.<br>\n\u201cDuring our contract negotiations, safety was a big issue, hours were a big issue,\u201d Muff said. \u201cWe had to bargain for better wages and benefits.\u201d<br>\nMuff explained that negotiations were difficult since \u201cthe company was very hardheaded throughout the first year. Afterwards, the company realized we weren\u2019t going to give up. Then, they got down to business.\u201d<br>\nWith unity, strength and fortitude, workers at Americold negotiated a good first contract.<br>\n\u201cWhen we ratified the contract my coworkers were very happy,\u201d said Muff.<br>\n\u201cWhen they saw the final contract for the first time, they realized that the entire wait was worth it. It was worth standing together and standing up to the company, because we made our lives much better.\u201d<br>\nNow workers at Americold are part of the more than 250,000 workers in the poultry and meatpacking industries nationwide who have a union contract with the UFCW.<br>\n\u201cThis contract gives us wages that protect full-time, family-supporting jobs in our community,\u201d Muff said.<br>\nThe new Americold contract includes:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Average wage increases of $1.44\/hr for the first year and an additional 30 cents per hour for the next four years;<\/li><li>&nbsp;A formal system to resolve workplace issues;<\/li><li>Time and a half pay for holiday work;<\/li><li>Night shift premium wages;<\/li><li>Affordable family health coverage;<\/li><li>Job advancement opportunities based on seniority; and,<\/li><li>Funeral leave and paid vacation benefits.<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe got lower costs for health care. We got guaranteed wage increases. Now we\u2019re able to stand up as one, and have a strong voice when we need to talk to management,\u201d he said.<br>\nMuff said they owe this contract to the support they received from all the UFCW members across the country.<br>\n\u201cI believe everyone in our local and in the UFCW was behind me and my fellow workers the whole time,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we stand together we can make a very big difference.\u201d<br>\nHe added that workers at Americold support workers at other plants who are at the bargaining table. He had some advice for them:<br>\n\u201cI would like to tell other workers who are trying to get their first contract that they should stick with it. The more you stand together the stronger you are and the better it is going to be in the long run. Your company might try to pull all different kinds of tactics on you, to make you feel like you made a bad decision in joining the union, but it\u2019s worth it, because it can only make your life better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once the election results were posted, Gene Muff was relieved and happy. He knew it was a time to celebrate, because change was coming to his plant. Muff, a member of UFCW Local 271, works at an Americold Logistics plant in Crete, Nebraska. Last summer, workers at his plant voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[174,195,253],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-meatpacking","tag-organizing","tag-ufcw"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Unity Makes the Difference for Americold Workers - The United Food &amp; Commercial Workers International Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/unity-makes-the-difference-for-americold-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unity Makes the Difference for Americold Workers - The United Food &amp; Commercial Workers International Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Once the election results were posted, Gene Muff was relieved and happy. 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