SALISBURY, Md. - Workers at Perdue AgriBusiness in Salisbury have announced plans to unionize with United Food & Commercial Workers Local 27 Union.
“We believe fully that the only way to get a fair deal with Perdue is to organize. We, the workers, are the union," wrote the organizing committee in a statement. "The company has all the power in this relationship. We deserve a share of that power. We help the company generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year at our plant and our reward is to fight and scrape to even get the raises we are due. UFCW Local 27 has won an election against Perdue before and we are confident that we will win this time. We are ready to fight to get a good contract that our coworkers deserve.”
Officials say that workers reached out to the union after a series of safety concerns raised among staff, along with wages and fairness in the workplace.
"We decided to unionize because we were tired of complaining and nothing being done about it,” said Jo Ellen Holland, a lab technician at Perdue and member of the union organizing committee. “All the traction unions are getting in the news really inspired us to take that next step for ourselves. Overall, we're just hoping to gain a better work environment for ourselves and our coworkers. Nothing revolutionary. People just deserve to be happier with their jobs.”
According to organizers, Perdue and its subsidiaries have received $48 million in penalties, including $700,000 for safety violations and $24.5 million in wage an hour violations. They note a 14 year old boy who lost his arm in a Perdue facility, and another killed in a workplace accident, both in Virginia.
Officials say that Perdue has also operated an aggressive anti-union campaign, leading to the UFCW Local 27 filing several unfair labor practice charges. They say this included posting deceptive literature that looks like a National Labor Relations Board document, but is actually doctored by the company.
Organizers say this union would cover around 46 employees at the Salisbury facility, where oil is refined from soybeans. They say a union election will take place on Sept. 28 and 29, with votes tallied the evening of the Sept. 29.
This story has been updated here.