Number
030715
Version
SUBSTITUTE 2
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. RICHARDS, JOHNSON-ODOM, GORDON, MURPHY, D'AMATO
Title
Substitute resolution urging Tyson Foods to negotiate in good faith with its
employees.
Analysis
This resolution expresses Common Council support for members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 538 on strike at the Tyson Foods Doskocil Food Service Company plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin, and urges Tyson Foods, Inc., to resume negotiations in good faith with UFCW Local 538.
Body
Whereas, Tyson Foods, Inc., founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork, and the second largest food company in the Fortune 500; and
Whereas, Tyson Foods has approximately 110,000 team members and 300 facilities and offices in 27 states and 22 countries, including the Doskocil Food Service Company plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin, which is one of the largest producers of pepperoni in the United States; and
Whereas, The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents 1.4 million members working in retail food, meat packing, food processing, manufacturing and health care, and is the largest union of meat and food processing workers in North America; and
Whereas, About 470 members of the UFCW Local 538 went on strike on February 28, 2003, at the Doskocil Food Service Company plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin, to protest Tyson Foods' contract offer that included a 4-year wage freeze, a two-tier pay scale, higher medical insurance contributions, a pension freeze and an elimination of severance pay; and
Whereas, Tyson Foods is maintaining production through the use of nonunion replacement workers and employees from other Tyson facilities, and no bargaining talks have taken place since the strike began, notwithstanding the willingness of UFCW Local 538 to resume negotiations; and
Whereas, The walkout at the Tyson Foods' plant, the hiring of replacement workers and the unwillingness of Tyson Foods to negotiate in good faith with its striking employees has strained the local economy of Jefferson and continues to divide that community; and
Whereas, Negotiating in good faith is a generally accepted standard of a healthy business and labor relationship which positively impacts on local communities and reduces costs to local government; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Common Council expresses its support for the members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 538 on strike at the Tyson Foods Doskocil Food Service Company plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Common Council urges Tyson Foods, Inc. to resume negotiations in good faith with UFCW Local 538; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the City Clerk shall forward copies of this resolution to John Tyson, chairman and chief executive officer of Tyson Foods, Inc., UFCW Local 538 President Michael Rice, and the City's delegation to the Wisconsin Legislature and U.S. Congress.
Drafter
LRB03419-2
RGP
9/15/03