UFCW Local 371 Ben & Jerry’s Members Negotiate Significant Wage Increases, Health Care Improvements
Waterbury, Vt. – More than 300 Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream workers at the St. Albans and Waterbury production facilities, who are members of theUnited Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 371, ratified their first union contract by an overwhelming majority vote.
Jeff Johnson, St. Albans Ben & Jerry’s bargaining committee member with 23 years seniority, said the following:
“I’m so proud of my co-workers for sticking together and demanding better. The union difference is clear and joining UFCW Local 371 will make a huge difference for us. Joining the union’s health insurance and getting consistent wages means hundreds more in each of my co-worker’s checks each month, and protecting our retirement and our paid time off gives us the security we need in uncertain times.”
Bernie Sweet, Jr., Waterbury Ben & Jerry’s bargaining committee member with seven years seniority, said the following:
“After a long organizing campaign and long negotiations, we are starting in the right direction to recapturing a time in the past when employees were happy and lining up the door for jobs and the company’s production goals were being exceeded.”
Contract Highlights
Most notably, the three-year contract allows workers to enter into the union’s health insurance plan, which includes medical, prescription, dental, and optical coverage and a cost savings of up to $8,000 a year in weekly premiums alone. The contract also guarantees 14 percent wage increases over the next three years, with a 16 percent pay raise between now and April 27, and a move towards a hybrid eight and 12 hour shift pattern, giving members more flexibility to balance the needs of their families with the needs of the plant.
Additional contract terms include:
- Protection of workers’ 401(k) plan with a 9 percent company match
- Six months of paid short term disability and six additional months of long-term disability
- Paid parental leave
- Longevity based ratification bonuses of up to $2,000
Background
Workers at the Waterbury and St. Albans plants won union recognition by way of card check in January and March of this year through an existing global agreement with Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, that establishes union neutrality and card check recognition at all Unilever worksites.
