A Teamsters local is charging Lamb Weston Holdings with illegally stymieing its effort to obtain a new contracta frozen-potato processing plant in Idaho.
Teamsters Local 983 announced March 18 that it has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over its attempts to bargain for a new contract for workers at a plant in American Falls that processes french fries for major quick-service chains. The complaint charges Lamb Weston with refusing to bargain with the union in good faith, disciplining workers for engaging in union activities, forcing staff to work 12-hour shifts with little to no advance notice, and other labor law violations.
"There's no reason for the company to be so unreasonable during negotiations," LaWanda Ellsworth, Teamsters Local 983 business agent, said in a statement. "The company has delayed our requests for meeting dates and information and there are a lot of issues that these workers want addressed – injuries, lack of respect, wages, benefits, excessive forced overtime, the need for family and work life balance; especially outsourcing.”
A Lamb Weston spokesperson released a comment stating that the company has bargained in good faith and has had 10 bargaining sessions with the union since December 2021. "We have been bargaining in good faith with our union counterparts and categorically deny any allegations to the contrary, and any allegation that would suggest we engaged in unfair labor practices," the statement says.
