There will be no union in Holcomb’s Tyson plant. Again.
That’s nothing new. Over the years, there have been a number of votes to unionize the meatpacking plant and every one of them has failed. The last one, seven years ago, saw two unions lobby for the workers’ support only to see both rejected.
This time, some union supporters thought it might be different. They waved the safety issue like a banner, emphasizing the 452 workers that reported injuries at the plant last year. That’s higher than the national average, though the company has said that serious injuries are less frequent.
Organizers wanted a slower production line, better health insurance and better retirement. But to get it, they needed worker support. They didn’t get it. On Thursday, workers voted down the union by a 3-to-1 margin.
What happened?
It’s not unique to Tyson. Since the 1980s union membership has fallen dramatically among meatpackers, even though the occupation is repeatedly ranked among the nation’s most dangerous jobs. Plant closings, strikes and a highly mobile immigrant work force have all been given as reasons why the rolls have gone down and stayed down.
It’s an unfortunate trend.
True, not all unions have been pure as the driven snow. There have been corrupt unions, inefficient unions, expensive unions. But many have been worthwhile, even crucial. At their best, they can allow workers to be heard in a way not otherwise possible.
“It always makes it harder when you have someone trying to intervene between you and your employees,” Holcomb plant manager Paul Karkiainen told Associated Press reporter Roxana Hegeman. But if the union’s doing its job, it is the employees. If it’s not representing its own members, it should be run off and quickly.
But good, bad or indifferent, there will be no union in Holcomb. So be it. The vote was fair and square. If workers don’t want to unionize, that’s their choice.
Still, Tyson’s management should be alert. The company has received a vote of confidence. But that confidence has to be earned anew every day. Otherwise, a worker’s mind can change awfully quickly.
No meatpacker can afford to have too many beefs.