Unionized workers at the Franz Bakery in Springfield, Oregon, voted Wednesday to end their strike after three weeks on the picket line.

The employees had been striking since Oct. 31, while demanding a new contract with higher wages, more transparent scheduling and better work-life balance.

On Wednesday, the workers voted to ratify Franz’s latest offer, even though union shop steward William Paget said the deal doesn’t meet most of those core demands.

Rather, Paget said some employees were under intense financial strain due to the length of the strike.

“A lot of our membership expressing that they were going to be running out of money soon made the decision to push for a contract that we could vote on a high priority on Tuesday,” said Paget, ”to preserve the integrity of our union walking back in that door, and to keep the number of scabs that cross the line as low as possible, so we can live to fight another day.”

Paget also said the union was forced to make concessions when Franz threatened not to give employees back-pay. That money retroactively compensates employees who receive a lower wage under an expired contract.

“We had to fight tooth and nail to scrape back every bit of back-pay that we could,” said Paget, “and we ended up with only 60 days.”

Paget said while the final deal does include the largest wage increase in company history, the union couldn’t secure more days off, or strong protections for existing time-off.

In an email to KLCC Thursday, Franz spokesperson Victoria Krabill said the company looked forward to welcoming employees back to the bakery.

“This was the first strike Franz has had in 118 years,” wrote Krabill. “We hope to learn from this and improve relationships with our Springfield bakery team, with ongoing engagement between management and the employees.”

Moving forward, Paget said the union will continue to monitor safety concerns at the Springfield facility. Previously, some striking workers have expressed concerns about the potential for on-the-job injuries.

This new contract will expire in 2027.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2024/11/22/springfield-franz-bakery-strike-end/