Smithfield's Tar Heel Plant To Unionize

摘要

In early December, workers at Smithfield Packing's Tar Heel, N.C., pork-processing plant voted in favor of union representation with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. The secret-ballot election resulted in 2,041 votes in favor of union representation and 1,879 votes opposing it.rn"From the beginning, our goal was to give employees the opportunity to vote on this issue in a fair, secret-ballot election," said Tim Schellpeper, president of SmithfieldrnPacking Company. "This has now been accomplished, and we will abide byrnthe results of the election. We respect the decision and look forward to working with the union to negotiate a fair labor contract for our employees."rnSmithfield has a history of working with the labor unions that represent employees at its other U.S. pork processing plants, he added. Employees at eight of Smith-field's 13 plants are currently represented by a union. The most recent election ends a long and what was often a bitter battle to unionize the Tar Heel facility.