Union investigating workers’ complaints at West Columbia chicken plant
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union is investigating complaints and a protest by workers at a chicken processing plant in West Columbia, according to a spokesperson for the union.
On Thursday, a protest by a dozen or more workers asking for better pay and working conditions broke out on the sidewalk across from the House of Raeford chicken processing plant, sometimes called Columbia Farms, on Sunset Boulevard.
The UFCW’s meat packing division is investigating the origins of that protest and whether the House of Raeford violated the union’s contract or federal labor law, spokesperson Valerie Barnhart said.
A House of Raeford official said the company can’t comment on the investigation because it hasn’t received a formal grievance from the UFCW Local 1996.
House of Raeford workers are protected by a contract between the company and the local chapter based in Georgia.
Workers contend that while on a break they were fired after approaching a supervisor about receiving hazard pay amid the increased risk of the coronavirus as well as concerns about working conditions. Only after they were fired did they leave the plant and begin to protest, according to four workers The State spoke with.
An official with House of Raeford has said the company does not comment on personnel matters.
The union’s investigation will also look into the workers complaints of sanitation and working conditions amid concerns about the coronavirus.
A House of Raeford spokesperson said the plant has precautions and protocols in place to protect workers from the coronavirus, including daily temperature checks for employees and newly installed equipment meant to keep workers better separated.
For now, Local 1996 says the protest was not action sanctioned by the union and called it “a wildcat strike,” according Barnhart.
“There’s a process that does involve the union (representative),” Barnhart said about how workers can address grievances with House of Raeford. “It’s more formalized than a one off conversation in a break room.”
“That doesn’t mean we’re not going to back them (the workers),” she said. “That means we didn’t sanction this action.”
Local 1996 represents workers in meat packing, grocery stores, and health care and nursing in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida.
House of Raeford’s West Columbia processing plant has 675 employees, company spokesperson Dave Witter said. The company processes an average of 150,000 chickens a day there.
The company gave hourly workers an “appreciation pay increase” this week of $1 an hour, Witter said.
This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 10:24 AM.