New contract talks open at Wells' Dairy
Workers rejected a deal in March that would have cut pay, benefits.
By Dave Dreeszen, Journal business editor | Posted: Saturday, September 20, 2008
Le MARS, Iowa -- Wells' Dairy, makers of Blue Bunny ice cream, has opened talks on a new contract with an employee committee that represents some 1,400 hourly workers here.
Members of the committee and the company's upper management recently sat down for their first meeting.
"Wells' Dairy is committed to negotiating a new contract in good faith, one of fairness to our employees and one that positions the company to meet the challenges ahead,'' Wells' Dairy said in a statement Friday. "The company intends to strengthen its competitive edge moving forward, creating greater job security, stability and sustainability for our employees and the community.''
The current three-year contract is set to expire Dec. 31. In March, 56 percent of hourly workers who voted rejected a deal, negotiated by the employee committee and company management, that would have trimmed about $5 million in pay and benefits out of the final year of the current labor pact. The outcome was a reversal of an earlier vote in which a majority of workers agreed to reopen the contract.
Wells' Dairy did not publicly identify details of the rejected deal other than to say it would have achieved needed savings to help make the company more financially viable and competitive in a global market.
It was the latest in a series of moves by Wells' Dairy to strengthen its core business of ice cream and frozen novelties and achieve its goal of becoming a Top 3 national brand.
Late last year, the 95-year-old dairy sold its milk plant in Le Mars to Dallas, Texas-based Dean Foods and its yogurt plant in Omaha to Mexico-based Grupo LALA.
The local employee committee, which has about 20 members, represents hourly workers at two ice cream plants, a freezer and a warehouse in Le Mars, the self-proclaimed Ice Cream Capital of the World.
Members of the committee and the company's upper management recently sat down for their first meeting.
"Wells' Dairy is committed to negotiating a new contract in good faith, one of fairness to our employees and one that positions the company to meet the challenges ahead,'' Wells' Dairy said in a statement Friday. "The company intends to strengthen its competitive edge moving forward, creating greater job security, stability and sustainability for our employees and the community.''
The current three-year contract is set to expire Dec. 31. In March, 56 percent of hourly workers who voted rejected a deal, negotiated by the employee committee and company management, that would have trimmed about $5 million in pay and benefits out of the final year of the current labor pact. The outcome was a reversal of an earlier vote in which a majority of workers agreed to reopen the contract.
Wells' Dairy did not publicly identify details of the rejected deal other than to say it would have achieved needed savings to help make the company more financially viable and competitive in a global market.
It was the latest in a series of moves by Wells' Dairy to strengthen its core business of ice cream and frozen novelties and achieve its goal of becoming a Top 3 national brand.
Late last year, the 95-year-old dairy sold its milk plant in Le Mars to Dallas, Texas-based Dean Foods and its yogurt plant in Omaha to Mexico-based Grupo LALA.
The local employee committee, which has about 20 members, represents hourly workers at two ice cream plants, a freezer and a warehouse in Le Mars, the self-proclaimed Ice Cream Capital of the World.
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ER wrote on Sep 21, 2008 2:53 PM: