Wells' Dairy workers approve new contract
By Dave Dreeszen ddreeszen@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2008
LE MARS, Iowa -- By a narrow margin, hourly workers at Wells' Dairy in Le Mars approved a revised, two-year contract that includes a 2.5 percent pay raise and a freeze on the employees' share of health care premiums, the company said Friday.
The vote represented a reversal of the outcome of an earlier ratification election this month, in which a tentative deal negotiated by the company and an employee committee lost by just nine votes.
Wells', makers of Blue Bunny ice cream and frozen novelties, did not release vote totals for the latest election. But company spokesman Dave Smetter said the margin of victory was slightly larger than the margin of defeat from the earlier vote. Of the roughly 1,400 eligible voters, 1,148 cast ballots from Wednesday morning through noon Friday.
The new agreement -- which runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2010 -- covers about 1,400 hourly workers at the company's two ice cream plants, a freezer and warehouse in Le Mars, the self-proclaimed Ice Cream Capital of the World.
Workers would receive a 2.5 percent pay raise, effective Jan 1, but no raise the second year. Employee health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles would be frozen both years of the new contract, Smetter said.
The deal means the company would absorb all additional costs of providing health care coverage. Smetter said Wells' typically experiences an 8 1/2 percent annual increase in total premiums.
Hourly workers received pay raises of 4 percent for each year of the current three-year contract, which expires Dec. 31, Smetter said.
In February, Wells', looking to cut costs to stay competitive in its industry, asked the employee committee to reopen the final year of that contract. By a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent, however, hourly workers rejected a negotiated deal that would have trimmed a total of $5 million in pay and perks.
Hourly wages for the 1,400 workers covered by the contract at Wells' average about $17.47 per hour, which excludes overtime pay, Smetter said. Wells' employs a total of about 2,500 people in Le Mars, where the privately held, family-run company maintains its corporate headquarters.
By the numbers
1,400 -- Approximate number of hourly workers covered under new two-year contract
2.5 -- percentage increase in hourly wages the first year of contract
0 -- additional dollars workers will pay for health care premiums over the two years
The vote represented a reversal of the outcome of an earlier ratification election this month, in which a tentative deal negotiated by the company and an employee committee lost by just nine votes.
Wells', makers of Blue Bunny ice cream and frozen novelties, did not release vote totals for the latest election. But company spokesman Dave Smetter said the margin of victory was slightly larger than the margin of defeat from the earlier vote. Of the roughly 1,400 eligible voters, 1,148 cast ballots from Wednesday morning through noon Friday.
The new agreement -- which runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2010 -- covers about 1,400 hourly workers at the company's two ice cream plants, a freezer and warehouse in Le Mars, the self-proclaimed Ice Cream Capital of the World.
Workers would receive a 2.5 percent pay raise, effective Jan 1, but no raise the second year. Employee health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles would be frozen both years of the new contract, Smetter said.
The deal means the company would absorb all additional costs of providing health care coverage. Smetter said Wells' typically experiences an 8 1/2 percent annual increase in total premiums.
Hourly workers received pay raises of 4 percent for each year of the current three-year contract, which expires Dec. 31, Smetter said.
In February, Wells', looking to cut costs to stay competitive in its industry, asked the employee committee to reopen the final year of that contract. By a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent, however, hourly workers rejected a negotiated deal that would have trimmed a total of $5 million in pay and perks.
Hourly wages for the 1,400 workers covered by the contract at Wells' average about $17.47 per hour, which excludes overtime pay, Smetter said. Wells' employs a total of about 2,500 people in Le Mars, where the privately held, family-run company maintains its corporate headquarters.
By the numbers
1,400 -- Approximate number of hourly workers covered under new two-year contract
2.5 -- percentage increase in hourly wages the first year of contract
0 -- additional dollars workers will pay for health care premiums over the two years
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vendman wrote on Oct 29, 2008 2:54 PM:
Joe wrote on Oct 25, 2008 5:59 PM:
bill wrote on Oct 25, 2008 3:26 PM:
Joe wrote on Oct 25, 2008 1:59 PM:
BIMBO wrote on Oct 25, 2008 10:03 AM: