Roughly 180 workers at Franz Bakery in Springfield have been on strike since Oct. 31.
Workers are seeking higher wages, more advance notice on their schedules, and safety and training improvements.
“The company doesn’t want to hear ‘safety.’ They don’t want to hear ‘change.’ They don’t want to talk about improvements of any kind,” Franz Bakery sanitation worker and union negotiating committee member Brad Currier told the Labor Press.
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) Local 114 represents the workers. On Oct. 31, they voted to authorize a strike and walked off the job.
BCTGM Western Region Vice President Shad Clark said the company’s wage offer is record breaking compared to past contract cycles, but that isn’t a high bar. Wage increases in past deals were subpar and resulted in wages falling behind the industry average, Clark said.
Currier has worked in the bakery’s sanitation program for 20 years and makes $24.88 per hour. Production workers make slightly more, but the average wage in the unit is around $24 to $25 per hour, Clark said.
The contract expired July 12.
Workers in Springfield authorized the strike after management bypassed the union negotiating committee and made an offer directly to members.
The company has hired temporary replacement workers and brought in workers from other branches and departments to continue production, Currier and Clark said. Strikers report that some truck drivers represented by the Teamsters are also crossing picket lines.
A similar size unit at the bakery’s Portland location got the same contract offer as Springfield, but that unit voted to accept the contract in early November, Clark said. The Portland Franz workers are continuing to work while the Springfield members strike.
Local 114 has filed unfair labor practice charges against Franz Bakery, accusing the company of harassing union members and changing working conditions outside of the contract.
Currier said fellow Bakers on the picket line were less stressed and fatigued than when they were on the job and subjected to unsafe working conditions and last-minute schedule changes.
“They’re just getting the rest they deserve,” Currier said. “The pay is really a smaller piece of this. We’re very focused on just having the safety training done right. We’re very focused on a structured schedule, a work-life balance for the membership.”
