Monfort WAS unionized up until about 1994, when they paid out $10.6M in back wages for hiring scabs during and after a long strike by their workers and then shutting down for two years in effort to break the union’s hold.
During the unionized employees’ tenure, the plant developed several innovative meat processing procedures. From 1987 thru 1994, Monfort was mired in ULPs and the resulting lawsuits as well as a lawsuit they filed themselves alleging monopolies. They were also victims of a large recall for an e-coli outbreak in their hamburger (they themselves invented the testing procedure), big fines for DOT violations, a shortage of grain due to the PTB sending too much abroad, changing consumer tastes and unfair monopolies by other regional meat packers. The subsequent consolidations and buyouts apparently ended up crushing the union’s hold on the workers, which were constantly being replaced. But not before Ken Monfort (son of founder Warren Monfort) passed and left his two sons a fortune. They now own the Colorado Rockies baseball team and other businesses and are also well-known philanthropists.
So Monfort apparently DID have well-paying local jobs with benefits for nearly 40 years (1955-1994).
And the phenomenon we are now experiencing with no loyalty and high turnover amongst employees is just what today’s Big Business and Government want. They’re not looking for high levels of skill or “institutional knowledge” anymore. Most of today’s employers just want “warm bodies” doing “face time.” And that is what they have :=0
