Dairy Gears Up To Weather Strike Preparations Enable Broadview To Operate During Labor Dispute
Replacement workers crossed a picket line without incident at Broadview Dairy early Thursday as dairy officials say the dairy is continuing to operate normally.
“In the milk business, you can’t have a disruption,” Arthur M. Coffee, vice president of Inland Northwest Dairies Inc., said. “The cows are there, and you have to process the milk. So we have been hiring replacement workers.”
Coffee said the replacements have been told they are temporary workers “at this point.”
“We’d like the individuals who are on strike to come back to work,” Coffee added, “but at this time, all of our obligations are being met with minimal disruption.”
“If I was on his side, I’d be saying the same thing,” responded Denny Young, a business representative of Teamsters Local No. 582. “But we don’t believe it. These are highly skilled positions. Running the milking machines, doing the pasteurizing and separating, and knowing the deliveries is not an easy job. We don’t think people can just come in off the street and do that.”
The Teamsters represent 47 of the 86 employees at the Broadview Dairy. Union members went on strike Wednesday evening following the rejection of the most recent contract offer from the dairy. The two sides have been in negotiations since May.
Union officials say the dairy is asking the union employees to take a $2 per hour wage cut and pay an additional $112 per month in medical insurance costs.
Coffee says the cuts are necessary to make the diary profitable. The Goodale & Barbieri Cos. bought the dairy and saved it from closure four years ago. Since then, Coffee says, the operation has lost $400,000.
Even after the requested givebacks, Coffee said, the package being offered to the union workers is worth $19.60 an hour.
“And for the Spokane marketplace, that’s a pretty good package,” Coffee said. He said the company is also offering the employees participation in a profit-sharing plan, at the point the operation does become profitable.
Coffee said the company is willing to return to the negotiating table. But Young said the union’s initial request at reopening talks was rebuffed.
“We called him after Wednesday night’s meeting (at which time the strike was called) and told him we were available any time,” Young said. “He said he was going to be awfully busy delivering milk.”
In addition to replacement workers and management officials, some of the union members have crossed the picket line to assist in operation of the dairy, Coffee said. Some reports indicated that 10 of the 47 members had gone back to work.
Young said that he believes only three union members have crossed the line.
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