Engineers decertify at Frito Lay

Stationary engineers at the Frito Lay Inc. factory in Beaverton voted 8-3 Sept. 9 to decertify from Operating Engineers Local 701. The current contract expires Oct. 2.

Union officials were surprised by the election results because they had signatures from seven of the 11-person bargaining unit on a petition supporting the union.

Local 701 said management "salted" the bargaining unit late last year by hiring an employee who is known to be anti-union and who formerly worked for a union-busting company. Salting is a tactic used primarily by building trades locals to organize non-union construction companies by having union craftsworkers apply for work at non-union companies and then promoting the union once on the job.

On the same day that the union announced it would open the contract for negotiations (July 16), the company hired two additional employees who are anti-union. The known union-buster was the employee who filed for the decertification petition, which was supported by the two new-hires and one other employee, the union said. It takes only 30 percent of a bargaining unit to force a decertification election with the National Labor Relations Board.

On Aug. 15 management called in employees for a "presentation of the facts" concerning the election. Some of the bargaining unit members requested union representation at the meeting but were refused. Shortly after the meeting began a Local 701 organizer arrived and the meeting was quickly canceled. In the hallway outside the meeting room the organizer alleged that he was strong-armed out the door by a manager. No charges were filed.

The management-orchestrated decertification is not a new tactic at Frito Lay. In fact, Portland-based Bakers Local 364 has dealt with decertification attempts in its last four contracts. The most recent was 1997, which it successfully defeated. However, in Hawaii, Frito Lay was successful in decertifying the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which had a wall-to-wall contract.

Union workers and supporters held an informational picket line and rally at the Beaverton plant Sept. 7. Among them were members of Portland Bakers Local 114, which has a contract opening there next month.

Frito-Lay closed its thrift store located at the factory because of the rally - under the pretense that it was concerned for its customers' safety, Local 701 said.

Frito-Lay is owned by Pepsico.