Safeway plant sanitors join Bakers Union

Sanitation workers at the Safeway Clackamas Bread Plant voted June 3 to join Bakers Local 114. The vote was 10 to 2.

Bakery sanitation workers do the deep cleaning of machinery, one of the most important jobs in a bakery.

The sanitors have been without a union for over two decades. During that time they have watched management reduce their crew from 25 workers to 14 — and replace it with temp agency workers.

According to Local 114 Secretary-Treasury Terry Lansing, Safeway engaged in an intensive anti-union campaign, holding many “voluntary” meetings trying to convince workers to stay non-union. “But they knew their job protection was ‘at will’ and they voted to have a say in their job security,” he said.

Lansing is pictured above (front row right), with sanitors from the bread plant. With them are Local 114 Business Agent Shad Clark (left), and International Representative Eric Anderson (standing next to Lansing).

All production bakers at the plant are members of Local 114. Operating Engineers Local 701 and Teamsters also represent workers there. The office staff is nonunion.