{"id":66334,"date":"2026-09-16T09:19:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T13:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/?post_type=victories&#038;p=66334"},"modified":"2026-09-16T09:24:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T13:24:25","slug":"poultry-processing-workers-in-north-carolina-vote-to-unionize","status":"publish","type":"victories","link":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/actions\/victories\/poultry-processing-workers-in-north-carolina-vote-to-unionize\/","title":{"rendered":"Poultry Processing Workers in North Carolina Vote to Unionize"},"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\"><strong><em>On to victory:<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;Pictured from left to right are workers Dwayne Townsend, Jacob Locklear, and Aaron Arrington; company observer Chrissy Conely; and union observer Andre Bracey.<\/em><\/p>\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\">Sanitization staff at Butterball in Raeford, N.C., joined&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ufcw1208.org\/\">UFCW Local 1208<\/a>&nbsp;earlier this summer. The 58 new members are responsible for cleaning and preparing the poultry plant for its daily production of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook turkey products.<\/p>\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\">The key issues that led workers to want union representation included concerns about safety, frustration with favoritism, and a desire for fair pay. Workers told organizers they were tired of seniority not factoring into decisions about job opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"image\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forlocals.ufcw.org\/files\/2026\/09\/1208-2-butterball.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forlocals.ufcw.org\/files\/2026\/09\/1208-2-butterball-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20209\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>Signs of solidarity<\/em><\/strong><em>: Pictured from left to right are organizers James Hewitt, Aaron \u201cAce\u201d Carter, and Jordan Easley.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\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\">Strong cohesion and leadership among workers were key factors in the win, as was a well-thought-out plan to prepare employees to refute anti-union rhetoric from the employer. Organizers were also able to show how collective action could help solve many of the workplace\u2019s problems.<\/p>\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\">These workers join the approximately 500 UFCW Local 1208 members who already work in the plant\u2019s production units.<\/p>\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\">Organizers hope to begin negotiating a contract in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On to victory:&nbsp;Pictured from left to right are workers Dwayne Townsend, Jacob Locklear, and Aaron Arrington; company observer Chrissy Conely; and union observer Andre Bracey. Sanitization staff at Butterball in Raeford, N.C., joined&nbsp;UFCW Local 1208&nbsp;earlier this summer. The 58 new members are responsible for cleaning and preparing the poultry plant for its daily production of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":436,"featured_media":66335,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[33,709],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-66334","victories","type-victories","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-processing","category-poultry","tag-ufcw-local-1208"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Poultry Processing Workers in North Carolina Vote to Unionize - The United Food &amp; Commercial Workers International Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Poultry Processing Workers in North Carolina Vote to Unionize\" \/>\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\/actions\/victories\/poultry-processing-workers-in-north-carolina-vote-to-unionize\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Poultry Processing Workers in North Carolina Vote to Unionize - The United Food &amp; 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