Nabisco Strikes: A Case Study In Collective

Bargaining
Introduction
Mondelēz International empowers people to snack right in over 150
countries around the world. They are leading the future of snacking with
iconic global and local brands such as Oreo, belVita and LU biscuits;
Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate; Sour Patch Kids
candy and Trident gum.

They are one of the largest snack companies in the world with global net
revenues of approximately $28.7 billion in 2021. They hold the #1 global
position in biscuits (cookies and crackers) and #2 in chocolate, while
we’re growing rapidly in baked snacks. They also make and sell gum &
candy as well as various cheese & grocery and powdered beverage
products in certain markets.

company have operations in more than 80 countries and employ around

80,000 in our factories, offices, research & development facilities and
distribution activities around the world

Workers at Nabisco bakeries and manufacturing plants across the country have
entered their second month of striking for normal working hours and the removal
of a proposed health care plan that would harm newer hires. Although a contract
between union board members and Nabisco representatives is supposedly in the
works, the Nabisco strikes showcase the myriad roadblocks involved in the
process of unionizing in America.
The strikes
The strikes, which began on August 10th in Portland, Oregon, began as a response
to a Nabisco plan that would increase work shifts from 12 to 16 hours a week
without overtime, increase mandatory work on weekends, and introduce a two-
tier healthcare system that would cost significantly more for new hires,
potentially creating a rift between the two types of employees.
According to Vice, the company had consistently “pushed extra hours onto
workers instead of hiring new workers,” and given that the pandemic work
schedule already entailed a grueling six- or seven-day work week with 12-hour
shifts and no paid overtime, the proposed plan would stretch workers even
thinner.
Rusty Lewis, a striking warehouse worker at the Nabisco distribution center in
Aurora, Colorado, told Vice that conditions have only deteriorated since he was
hired in the 90’s. “It’s gotten worse. It’s gotten horrible. Horrible hours,” Lewis
said. “They don’t care about frontline workers. They only care about the almighty
dollar. We’re tired of getting stepped on and treated like trash. We’ve had
enough.”
Support from local community
The strikes have been supported by local communities, with facilities across the
country attracting “hundreds of local workers, community members, and
politicians, who have brought sandwiches, donuts, and water” to support the
strikers at the picket lines, says Vice. The workers’ strike fund has far exceeded
its goal, drawing from thousands of donors around the globe.
The threat
However, the striking workers have also garnered sustained backlash from
Nabisco and its parent company Mondelez, who have threatened workers with
legal action and the offshoring of future jobs, have bussed in unqualified workers
to work high-skilled jobs in an attempt to break the strike, and have even called
in police forces and private strike staffing teams to “evict strikers from a rail line
leading into the plant.” This has resulted in the assault of several workers and
community members, according to the International Committee of the Fourth
International.
Calling in backup is not uncommon for big companies with a vested interest in
stymieing local unions’ success. These companies typically bust unions before
they can form, with manipulation, blackmail, coercion, and surveillance under
the guise of worker education being their usual modus operandi.
The rights
While these actions are prohibited under statutes of the National Labor Relations
Act, according to a 2019 Economic Policy Institute report, “Employers are
charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns …
[and] employers are charged with making threats, engaging in surveillance
activities, or harassing workers in nearly a third of all union election campaigns.”
Additionally, private strike staffing companies, like the Huffmaster Crisis
Response company that Nabisco has hired to monitor their facilities, are part of a
growing industry of strike breakers and consulting agencies created to effectively
prevent collective bargaining.
In spite of companies’ and their constituents’ concerted efforts to bust unions and
break strikes, correctly-managed unions are an immensely powerful tool for
negotiating workers’ rights. By serving as an intermediary between workers and
company interests, unions can successfully negotiate beneficial deals with large
companies, like the deal currently being discussed with Nabisco as of today.
According to Rahna Epting, executive director of policy advocacy group
MoveOn, “We need unions because they spark an understanding within the larger
zeitgeist of America that when we come together, we are powerful and can pool
influence to decide who gets elected and influence their decisions.”
Unionizing and collective organizing have the power to bring about palpable
change for workers’ rights, if unionizing and striking are made easier and labor
laws are reformed to allow workers to better advocate for themselves. As of
today, a new union-friendly act, the Protecting the Right to Organize (P.R.O.)
Act, is being passed through Senate.
This act would “make it easier for workers to form unions, conduct strikes, and
bargain for better wages and working conditions,” C.N.N. reports. But while the
P.R.O. Act is necessary to protect workers’ rights, it is not sufficient.
According to the Center for American Progress, labor reforms like raising the
minimum wage and implementing automatic voter registration, as well as
reforming “tax policies that harm workers and indirectly weaken unions, such as
those that encourage outsourcing and offshoring,” are sorely needed in order to
set a proper expectation for workers’ rights and create a democratic labor system.
Conclusion
Collective bargaining is how we won the 40-hour work week, sick leaves,
workplace regulations, and even minimum wage. Things don’t have to stop there.
If we empower unions and the workers they represent, we can make even more
gains for workers’ rights.