by James Parks, Apr 20, 2011
After a decade of struggle, workers at cookie maker Consolidated Biscuit Company (CBC), now Hearthside Food Solutions (HFS), in McComb, Ohio, are a big step closer to joining a union. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced the 825 workers will vote May 5–6 on whether to join a union.
Fed up with low pay, minimal benefits and hazardous working conditions, workers at CBC approached the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) about joining the union in 2001.
For Selena Smith Packer, a 15-year veteran at the plant, the issue is consistency.
Every time a new manager or a new owner takes over, they make changes for their interest, not ours. We have no vote or say in the matter. As a union, we’ll get to vote on changes and even make some demands that are in our best interest.
The NLRB overturned an initial election in 2002 because CBC had repeatedly violated federal labor laws. The labor board ordered the new election more than two years ago and the decision was affirmed by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Both the NLRB and the appeals court ruled that CBC harassed union organizing activities, and confused and scared workers into voting against joining BCTGM.
The court and board required CBC to reinstate employees Bill Lawhorn and Russell Teegardin in 2008, six years after the company fired them for trying to form a union. Lawhorn testified before Congress as an example of why the Employee Free Choice Act is necessary.
