Dive Brief:
- The National Labor Relations Board has pronounced Archer Daniels Midland Co. guilty of violating federal labor laws after the company allegedly took action to violate the rights of employees to consider joining a union at its bioproducts plant in Decatur, IL.
- In January 2015, maintenance employees had voted against joining the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. Following a July hearing, an administrative judge said that ADM had interrogated and threatened employees with regards to joining the union, so the judge threw out the results of that election and ordered another.
- ADM affirms it did not engage in unfair labor practices but did not appeal the judge's decision, so the labor board adopted the judge's conclusions in the case.
Dive Insight:
The follow-up election could come within the next month, which means employees would have another opportunity to potentially join BCTGM. It already represents workers at 38 other ADM facilities. Employees are looking to unionize due to work conditions and scheduling, Nick Mitchell, a lead maintenance employee at the plant, told Herald & Review.
BCTGM represents more than 70,000 members working for various food manufacturers, including General Mills, Kellogg, ConAgra, Cargill, Hershey, and Nestle. With so many ADM facilities already working closely with the union, it's unlikely that having the Decatur facility join would significantly impact operations or financials for ADM corporate.
Still, food companies have been accused in the past of violating employees' ability to join a union. In September, the NLRB accused Shamrock Foods, the Southwest's largest dairy, of allegedly threatening, spying on, and firing employees for supporting their union.
Being open about how companies treat their employees is one of the key elements of transparency for food companies today.