Sanders is expected to join Local 100G members, labor supporters and community leaders outside the Penford plant at approximately 5:15 p.m. and deliver remarks shortly thereafter. The plant is located at 1001 First Avenue, S.W. in Cedar Rapids.
“Bernie Sanders has been a voice for working people all his life. He is a man who never gives up and who always makes decisions based on what is good and right for the average American. We are proud he has chosen to take time out of his extremely busy schedule to visit Local 100G members in Cedar Rapids,” says BCTGM International President David B. Durkee.
The informational picket outside the Penford plant is the second in a series of protests against Ingredion’s unfair contract proposals. The collective bargaining agreement covering approximately 160 union members at the plant expired on August 1. Workers at the plant continue to work under the terms of the expired pact while Union negotiators attempt to reach a fair new contract.
Union and company negotiators have held three negotiating sessions and the most recent talks came to a halt after company representatives delivered to the Union what it termed as its “last, best and final offer.” Ingredion negotiators have proposed more than 100 concessionary changes to the collective bargaining agreement.
The Penford site was opened in 1890 as the Douglas Starch Works and has employed generations of family members from the Cedar Rapids area. Ingredion, a multinational Corporation is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois.
When:
5:00 p.m./Friday, September 4, 2015
Where:
Penford Products
1001 First Avenue, S.W. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
