Inthesetimes.com

 10-Month Iowa Lockout Ends With  New Contract, and Disappointment

A ten-month lockout at Roquette America’s corn milling plant in Iowa has come to an end after its unionized workers agreed to a new collective bargaining deal. [see previous BFIA posts about the lockout.]   LINK     LINK     LINK

Most of the 240 employees represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 48G voted on July 23 to approve a new contract that expires in 2015.

The workers are scheduled to return to the plant located in the town of Keokuk this month. The deal ends a nearly 12-month negotiation period with Roquette, a multinational grain milling company based in France. While the employees are relieved to return to work, they are far from enthusiastic about the new contractual terms.

Union president Steve Underwood told KHQA News that it wasn’t a good contract and they are “going to have to live with it.” The sentiment was shared by the rank and file. The July vote was reportedly approved by a slim majority following some modifications to an earlier proposal, which members rejected the previous day.

Roquette locked-out workers last September after they rejected a concession-heavy proposal from the company. Lee County, which includes Keokuk, has had the highest rate of unemployed workers in Iowa over the past four years.

The union criticized Roquette, which made $3.7 billion annual sales, for receiving local and state subsidies.

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