Workers on Strike at Knappen Milling in Augusta, Mich.
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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11 Mar Workers on Strike at Knappen Milling in Augusta, Mich.

Posted at 10:39h in Knappen Milling Strike, Local Union News, Press, Strikes, Wages by

20 members of BCTGM Local 3G (Battle Creek, Mich.) have initiated an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike against Knappen Milling Co. in Augusta, Mich.

The workers are fighting against low wages, safety concerns, and for a Union security clause to be written back into their contract following the repeal of a decade-long Right-to-Work law in their state.

โ€œOur wage increases have consistently lagged behind industry standards, and the percentage increases are simply unfair,โ€ reports Local 3G Chief Shop Steward Rick Madison. According to Madison, the workersโ€™ last raise was 2.4%, which only amounted to $0.36 to $0.40 depending which pay level they were at. โ€œWe want to do away with percentages. Any raises going forward should be the same for everyone,โ€ he says.

The workers have also felt unsafe in the plant, particularly on the night shift. โ€œThere are only two people who work third shift, and they are in separate buildings during those hours,โ€ Madison reports. โ€œThis is a serious safety issue. We want to have at least two in each building at all times, to which the company has refused.โ€

The bargaining committee has also taken a hard line on the companyโ€™s refusal to restore their Union security clause. โ€œWhen Right-to-Work passed in Michigan in 2012, it banned the contract language we had in place for workers to join BCTGM Local 3G as a term of employment,โ€ Madison says. โ€œThat law was repealed in 2023, and took effect as our negotiations started in February. It is important that we get that restored, as is our right once more in the state of Michigan.โ€

The bargaining committee has filed two ULP charges against Knappen Milling with the NLRB, for direct bargaining with the members and retaliatory termination.

โ€œManagement has been talking with members and non-members about the strike and attempting to make deals related to crossing the picket line,โ€ Madison says. โ€œOne person who recently joined the Union was also illegally fired.โ€

BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton issued the following statement in support of the striking Union members:

โ€œThe BCTGM International Union will stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters at Knappen Milling for as long as it takes to achieve a fair and just contract.

โ€œI commend our BCTGM Local 3G members for standing up for their rights on the job, and urge the rest of our Local Unions to support them however possible. Their fight, particularly on the subject of Union security, is one of our entire Union.โ€

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