A group of workers at the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, Vt., scooped up a victory Wednesday when a majority of employees at the plant opted to unionize.
About 70 percent of the approximately 95 employees at the plant voted to organize, according to Brian P. Truini, secretary-treasurer of Local 371 UFCW, the food and commercial workers labor union that the Ben & Jerry’s employees will join.
The staff at the Waterbury factory — which is often open to the public for tours and includes a “graveyard” for decommissioned flavors — is the second group of employees of the ice cream brand to organize. Workers unionized earlier this year at a retail shop in Burlington, the city where Ben & Jerry’s was founded.
Unilever, the London-based conglomerate that owns Ben & Jerry’s, “agreed to neutrality,” allowing the workers to be recognized as a union with none of the usual corporate pushback, according to Local 371 UFCW. Ben & Jerry’s also publicly supported the workers at the Burlington shop.
In a joint statement with UFCW Local 371, Ben & Jerry’s said that as that “a values-led organization with a progressive social mission, we respect our employees’ decision.”
“We now look forward to working together in the spirit of mutual respect and collaboration as we progress to the next step of this relationship,” the statement added. “Our priority is to collectively bargain in good faith to eventually reach a fair and equitable contract that recognizes our hard-working employees and equally works for them, the company, and Ben & Jerry’s incredible customers.”
In a statement, UFCW Local 371 president Ronald M. Petronella said the labor union was glad that the ice cream brand was cooperating and not “forcing a long and drawn out election process.”
“Ben & Jerry’s employees work hard to make the ice cream that so many Americans know and love and we look forward to sitting down at the bargaining table to negotiate a contract with Unilever that gives them the benefits that they have earned and deserve,” he said.
Since it was founded in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s, which makes flavors such as Half Baked and Phish Food, has cultivated a progressive image, often making a point of supporting social justice-oriented causes. Its approach stands in sharp contrast with corporate brands including Starbucks, which has ardently fought its employees’ efforts to unionize, even in the face of high-profile strikes and walkouts.
In a statement, UFCW International President Marc Perrone said he hopes additional organizing efforts will follow at other plants owned by Unilever, which also oversees brands including Hellmann’s and Dove.
“These workers know better than anyone that whether it’s in a cup or cone,” he said, “union victory tastes sweet.”
Dana Gerber can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @danagerber6.
