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Workers ratify new contract at Tyson plant
DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP)--A new five-year contract has been approved for workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Dakota City.
The contract affects the more than 3,000 workers at the complex and is effective immediately.
"The contract provides improvements in pay and benefits, while keeping the plant competitive," said Tom Trosper, general manager of the complex, in a news release Aug. 8.
About 97 percent of union member workers at the plant voted Aug. 8 to accept the new contract, said Marvin Harrington, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 222 based in Sioux City, Iowa.
The union represents about 85 percent of the workers at the plant, Harrington said.
"It's a good deal. You'd always like to get a little bit more, but it's a good deal," Harrington said.
Pay increases in the contract include $1.55 per hour for production workers over the first 48 months of the contract, which pushes the plant's top production pay to $13.65 per hour. Starting pay for maintenance workers will go up 80 cents to $11 per hour. Over the course of the contract, top pay for maintenance workers will go to $16.40.
Harrington said the increases give the plant the highest rate of pay for beef plants in the nation.
The company and union will also manage a new $25,000 per year cultural diversity trust fund that will support programs aimed at minority and immigrant workers, Harrington said. Prospective programs under the fund include English-language classes, Spanish-language classes and scholarships for workers or their children.
The Dakota City plant produces fresh beef and related products for both the domestic and international markets.
Date: 8/26/04
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