Teasdale Strike ENDS: Local 1 Members Ratify New Contract
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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01 Sep Teasdale Strike ENDS: Local 1 Members Ratify New Contract

Posted at 08:41h in BCTGM Strike by

Sixty-five members of BCTGM Local 1 (Chicago, Ill.) on strike against Teasdale Latin Foods have voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement. This brings an end to the eleven-week strike that began on June 1. The workers at Teasdale process and can beans and other goods for major retailers across the U.S.

Reflecting on the vote to accept the new agreement, BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton stated,

“These hard-working members put it all on the line in their fight for a fair contract. This settlement is the result of their dedication, and the solidarity of the labor movement and the community.”

The Union members stood strong for eleven weeks against the outsourcing of union jobs, changes to scheduling practices and a two-tier wage system.

Over the past month, the union began a new phase of their campaign called ‘Who’s Cooking the Beans?’ —informing consumers across the country about the strike and the company’s use of under-skilled, untrained replacement labor.

In addition, the Union and its allies began focusing its attention on the private equity owners of Teasdale Latin Foods—TruArc Partners out of New York—including an email campaign, correspondence to the firm’s managing partners and outreach to the firm’s investors.

“When you attempt to dismantle a BCTGM Union contract, we will fight back. When private equity owners with no ties to the local community try to undermine the negotiating process, we will fight back. Our members in Hoopeston sacrificed their jobs to stand up for working people everywhere. I could not be more proud.”

—BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton

The striking members at Local 1 received tremendous support from BCTGM Local Unions throughout North America whose members visited the strike line or participated in informational hand-billing at major grocery retailers. The Chicago Labor Federation, the AFL-CIO and allied organizations helped them put pressure on the Company from every angle. “The SOLIDARITY of the Labor Movement was vital to this victory, as it always is,” President Shelton asserted.

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