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Why hundreds of Frito-Lay workers are on strike

bynewsdesk
July 24, 2021

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In recent years, however, workers and union members say the facility where Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos are made has changed. toxic work environment.
Hundreds of Frito-Lay workers at the Topeka factory are on strike in week three over what? union leaders describe as long hours, forced overtime, stagnant wages and a reduced quality of life. It is the first strike with the plant in being active for decades.

Members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 218 union have called on the snack food company to ensure better working conditions and pay. One of their grievances is so-called “suicide shifts,” in which employees work a full day of eight hours plus four hours of overtime with a short turnaround time for the next shift.

“Workers don’t have enough time to see their families, do chores, run errands or even get a good night’s sleep,” the union’s international chairman, Anthony Shelton, said in a statement. Declaration of July 12. “This strike is about working people who have a voice in their future and stand up for their families.”
Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo, said in a statement that the claims about long working days were “grossly exaggerated.” It also pointed to a contract offer it had made prior to the strike that would limit overtime to 60 hours and end what it called “squeeze shifts.”

Corrina Christensen, communications director for the main union of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers told CNN on Thursday that negotiations were finalized and that it would not comment until after a vote by members. Frito-Lay did not respond to specific requests for comment from CNN, instead pointing to public statements released this week.

Employees feel ‘pushed to their limits’

As the nation continues to recover from the pandemic, PepsiCo recently reported quarterly results That Outperformed Wall Street Estimates — Frito-Lay North America grew its organic sales by 6%.

However, workers at the Topeka factory feel burned out.

Union leaders said in a podcast interview last week they had asked management for years to address staff shortages resulting in forced overtime and long shifts, but the issues were not being addressed adequately.

“Before we left the strike, they were already 100 workers short, and that’s where a lot of the overtime comes in,” said Paul Klemme, chief steward of Local 218.

Mark McCarter, a Frito-Lay employee and union representative who has worked at the Topeka facility for more than three decades, told SHAME that he earns $20.50 an hour despite his long career with the company and has not received a decent raise in 10 years.

“I think people are pushed to their limits,” he told the outlet. “COVID has caused some of this. During COVID, managers have started working from home. People see that and realize they have other options. Everyone is hiring and increasing their pay because nobody wants to work for $8 an hour anymore.”

Cherie Renfro, another employee at the facility, criticized Frito-Lay for giving bonuses rather than raises and accused the company of cutting wages for new employees. She also said workers did not receive a hazard compensation or other recognition for the risks they took during the pandemic.

“You have no problem paying for the drug testing, background checks, orientation and training for more than 350 employees you hired and lost in the past year,” Renfro wrote in the paper. Topeka Capital Journal. “But you have a problem with giving decent living wages to keep loyal workers, already trained, already here.”

More than 800 workers have been affected by the strike.

Where the things are

Union membership clinched a July 1 offer from Frito-Lay before going on strike.

Negotiations resumed this week and the two sides concluded their talks on Thursday.

Frito-Lay said in a pronunciation that the new offer “will better address workers’ concerns about guaranteed days off and create additional opportunities for the union to have input into staffing and overtime,” adding that it would include general pay increases.

Christensen, the spokesman for the main union, said members are currently voting on the contract and the results are expected late Friday.

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/23/us/frito-lay-strike-topeka-kansas-trnd/index.html

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