KANNAPOLIS — Pillowtex employees in four Southeastern states have elected 68
co-workers to negotiate a contract between company executives and a union.Between 5 p.m. Sunday and 10 this morning,
local Pillowtex employees cast ballots for members of a negotiating committee at union
offices on Railroad Street and on South Cannon Boulevard in Kannapolis. Members were
picked to represent each of the company’s plants, areas and shifts.
The committee will meet with top
executives on Dec. 6 in Fieldale, Va., according to organizers for the Union of
Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees. The meeting may last several days.
Monday afternoon, employees
trickled into the UNITE office on South Cannon Boulevard, a former bank office, to check
names on brightly colored ballots and put them in a big cardboard box.
“This is part of most
people’s future,” said Charles Butler, a 22-year employee in the distribution
area at Plant 1 in Kannapolis, just after voting. “I just feel like it’s a
chance and opportunity for us to speak up about how we feel.”
“I feel good about the people
we’re choosing,” said Ruth Crisco, an employee at Plant 6 in Concord. “I
really think it’s going to make a difference.”
Two weeks ago, Pillowtex CEO Chuck
Hansen and UNITE secretary-treasurer Bruce Raynor announced that they will not contest
results from a June election. Workers at the company’s local operations voted
2,270-2,102 in favor of allowing New-York based UNITE to represent them.
Some 5,000 employees at the six
Pillowtex plants in Rowan and Cabarrus counties join 3,000 others at the company’s
already unionized plants in Eden, Fieldale, Va., Columbus, Ga., and Phenix City, Ala.
In the past two weeks, union
organizers have invited employees to fill out surveys about their jobs and join meetings
to set priorities for a contract between UNITE and Pillowtex. Employees that support the
union have overwhelmingly said they would like any contract to include a better pension
plan and a way to be heard more fairly during disputes with management.
If the committee and company
executives agree to a contract, a majority of employees must ratify it before it becomes
effective. After that, employees who are union members must pay dues, which average $20 a
month at Pillowtex plants already unionized.
Organizers were still counting
ballots this morning, and didn’t expect to announce names of employees on the
negotiating committee until tonight.
“We’re trying to get
everybody involved in this, so we can go to the table with plenty of support,” said
Leonard Chapman, a distribution worker at Plant 1. “This is everybody’s
future.” |
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