Frito-Lay Workers in Kansas Ratify Contract, Ending Strike

The company said it believed its approach to resolving the strike “demonstrates how we listen to our employees, and when concerns are raised, they are taken seriously and addressed.”

Mr. Klemme said he would have liked to have seen better wage increases for the employees. Some departments had not had an increase in pay of more than 20 to 40 cents in the past six to eight years, he said.

“I think it could have been better, but I think the time off for people is worth it,” Mr. Klemme said.

The food and beverage giant, which is home to Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Doritos, said this month that its net revenue in the quarter surged by 20.5 percent, to $19.2 billion, from a year earlier.

Mr. Shelton said that more than 600 union members had picketed and marched over the past 20 days.

The workers at the Topeka plant “have shown the world that union working people can stand up against the largest food companies in the world and claim victory for themselves, their families and their communities,” he said.

The company had tried to push back on the union’s complaints about the long shifts.

It said that out of about 850 employees in Topeka, only 20 averaged over 60 hours per week.

The company said its records indicated that 19 employees worked 84 hours in a given workweek this year, and 16 of those had volunteered for overtime. Only three of the 19 had been required to work, the company said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/24/us/frito-lay-union-contract.html