Articles with the Tag Union busting

Two weeks ago I blogged about Kettle Chips being unhappy about the threatening unionisation of their workers, to the point of hiring an American unionbusting company. Well, it seems this has paid off, as the Kettle Chips workers voted 2-1 against joining the Unite union:

Workers at Kettle Foods, the upmarket snack maker, have voted against union recognition at its Norwich factory after the company called in US union busters.

Factory and office workers voted 206 to 93 in a ballot, not to join the Unite union. The decision was welcomed yesterday by the company, owned by private equity group, Lion Capital, but it was greeted with dismay by the union and Richard Howitt, the local Labour MEP.

The food firm employed Omega, a subsidiary of US union busters the Burke Group, based in Malibu, California, to dissuade staff from joining the union.

The reporting of the battle in the Guardian led to two campaign groups – Boycott Kettle Crisps for Attacks on Workers, and Boycott Kettle Chips: the anti-union snack – being set up on the internet site Facebook. These have attracted nearly 800 people in Britain, Australia and the US.

The union is blaming the campaign against them for the result, but they’ll have to evaluate their own campaign as well. Why could they not convince these workers to do something that should be so evidently in their self interest? These battles will not go away anytime soon, as more companies will follow the example of Kettle Chips and use unionbusters to make sure their workers don’t organise. The unions better have their tactics ready.

It’s an old story. A supposedly wholesome company which takes good care of its workers and which takes pride in presenting a benign image to its customers, is less than happy when its workers want to unionise. This time it’s the people behind Kettle chips who object:

It says it has had to seek advice from “a number of sources” to fight what it considers are union experts in organising recognition campaigns. It did not comment directly on employing Omega Training, part of the Burke Group. The company does not want to recognise a union. It said: “We are very proud of our workforce and continue to believe passionately that direct engagement with employees in the spirit of mutuality is in the best interests of our employees and shareholders.”

A spokesman added: “All our employees enjoy a secure salary (the lowest of which is 25% above the minimum wage); we have a 38-hour week with 25 days’ paid holiday per annum increasing with service, and we offer a blue-chip benefits package that includes 100% sick pay … and a profit-sharing bonus that is open to all employees. We’re not sure what Unite the union wish to do for our employees.”

The union is baffled why the company is so determined to block recognition. Miles Hubbard, Unite’s eastern region organiser, said: “They are a good company with a decent record so we cannot understand why they are being so aggressive about union activity. We were called in by the workers when they did not receive annualised payments for overtime.”

What both sides in this dispute talk around is the simple fact that with an union, the workers at Kettle chips no longer have to depend on the company’s goodwill to be treated right, but have a powerful weapon to force management to do the right thing. At the moment, “direct engagement with employees in the spirit of mutuality” may be “in the best interests of our employees and shareholders”, but what if the interest of employees and shareholders clash? Without an union, the workers at Kettle chips would be at the mercy of the company. Unions are like insurance: you may not need them now, but it pays to have it for when you do need it.

If Kettle chips or its parent company were really as benign as they say they are, they would not be threatened by this unionising attempt. But like many a patriarchal company before them(Remember Whole Foods?), they want to be generous to their employees on their terms, on bended knees and dependent on the company.

Hattip: Avedon