Union-busting at Kraft's 'delicious world'

Kraft Foods, the world's second-largest food company, appears to be improvising their planned breakup into two separate corporate entities. But faced with the prospect of a union at their factory in Allentown, Pennsylvania, top corporate management lost no time to combat what they perceived as a mortal danger to the company.

Over 300 workers are employed at the factory, making Grey Poupon mustard, A-1 Steak Sauce, T-Discs for the Tassimo hot beverage-maker and natural cheese products (the factory lost the processed cheese line in 2007, with the loss of many jobs).

Among other issues, workers at the plant complain about scheduling - some employees on the Tassimo lines have worked 30 days straight without a day off. To qualify for double time pay for extra hours worked, workers must put in 7 straight days within the scheduled work week. Workers on the Tassimo lines complain about understaffing, frequent rules changes and management favoritism.

The pension plan has been closed to all employees hired after 2004, and future company contributions for qualifying employees limited. Laid off workers have no recall rights in the event of new openings, and are forced to reapply as new employees.

The IUF-affiliated BCTGM began recruiting and organizing at the plant earlier this year, and was building up momentum to sign up a majority of workers for a union representation election. BCTGM Local 492 filed for an election on May 24 and the election was set for June 28.

The Kraft corporate SWAT team instantly swung into action. The top corporate HR bosses headed for Allentown to direct a vicious anti-union campaign designed to instill fear. Captive meetings were held for 5 straight weeks.

Movies were shown with actors playing the part of union negotiators giving up current benefits the workers allegedly enjoyed without a union and risked losing if the union won. Union recognition would result in a strike; workers would be without pay or medical benefits, and could be permanently replaced. The union would be to blame. The costs of union membership were consistently exaggerated. Workers were told the union would bring up on trial individual members for violating union bylaws. Workers were told they would miss out on a lump sum pension payment.

Enough workers were rattled by the campaign that on election day the company prevailed.

So Kraft's Allentown workers remain without rights and without a voice in the workplace.

What did the anti-union campaign cost the company? If Kraft hired a union-busting consultant to supplement corporate HR's efforts, we'll never know. Under US law, a company must file official forms with the Department of Labor to detail the consultant's work - unless the union-busters never appear directly to the workers and their role is merely "advisory". Companies can book such services as "miscellaneous costs of doing business", or they can evaporate into financial thin air, detectable only by internal accountants. On the CSR circuit, no one asks.

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