03 Mar Danone Workers in Pennsylvania Vote BCTGM
In late February, more than 150 workers at Danone North America’s yogurt and plant-based powder facility in DuBois, Pa. voted overwhelmingly to join BCTGM Local 19 (Cleveland, Ohio).
France-based Danone is one of the largest food & beverage companies in the world. Danone’s largest subsidiary in the United States is Dannon Yogurt, producer of Dannon, Oikos, Danimals, Activia, and YoCream. The BCTGM represents workers at Dannon facilities in Minster, Ohio and West Jordan, Utah.
Danone prides itself on its positive relationship with trade unions, especially in Europe, and this philosophy has been carried over to operations in North America. In 2017, Danone acquired Whitewave Foods for $12.5 billion, which included the DuBois plant and 10 other manufacturing facilities.
At the time, Whitewave was the largest, non-dairy company in the United States producing brands such as Silk, So Delicious, Horizon Organic, Earthbound Farm and Alpro. The company was also predominately nonunion.
Soon after the acquisition, the BCTGM, working with the International Union of Food Workers (IUF), of which the BCTGM is an important affiliate, expressed concern to Danone about the American-style anti-union position maintained by management in the former Whitewave facilities.
In 2018, Danone executives, along with representatives of the BCTGM and the IUF met in New York City to discuss challenges facing workers in the nonunion plants. Danone pledged to abide by all U.S. labor laws and agreed not to conduct any type of anti-union campaign.
When several DuBois workers reached out to BCTGM International Director of Organization John Price in mid-2019 complaining of favoritism, scheduling issues and inadequate benefits, the Union launched an organizing campaign. A team of International staff organizers was led by Price and East-Central Region International Vice President Roger Miller. The organizers also included Local 19 President and International General Executive Board member Paul LaBuda, Business Agents Stan LaBuda and Jim Franklin.
Union organizers spent significant time educating workers on their legal rights to join a union, as well as the union benefits covering workers at the BCTGM-represented Dannon plants.
With a majority of the workers at the DuBois facility having signed union authorization cards, Local 19 approached Danone to request union access to the facility and to schedule a union election two weeks following the communication with the workers.
Due to wintry conditions of February in western Pennsylvania, a trailer was rented by Local 19 and placed near the employee entrance. Workers who wanted information or to talk to organizers from the International Union or Local 19 could visit the make-shift union office before or after their shift. Also part of the agreement, when employees asked company supervisors or management about the union, they were directed to talk directly to union officials to ensure that the information was accurate.
On February 29, the workers at the DuBois facility voted 97-33 in favor of joining the BCTGM.
According to Price, the overwhelming victory shows that when an employer allows a free and fair election without retaliation and fear, workers will always choose to join a union.
“The reason so few workers in the United States belong to a union is that employers almost always run anti-union campaigns by firing workers, threatening workers with retaliation if they support the union, intimidate union activists and spread lies about unions as they control all communication to the workforce,” said Price.
“Danone played fair in allowing workers the freedom to decide if they wanted to form a union. And when workers have the true facts about what unions do for working families, the decision is easy,” said Price.