More than 1,500 Blue Bird Corp. workers have voted overwhelmingly to approve their first union contract with the company, locking in higher wages, a plan for retirement savings and a start to profit-sharing, according to company and union officials.
The three-year contract, which comes a year after workers voted to join the United Steelworkers (USW), was praised by leaders of both union and management of the iconic Fort Valley-based manufacturer.
The negotiations were “collaborative and professional,” and the deal gives the company a competitive advantage in finding skilled labor, said Phil Horlock, chief executive of Blue Bird in a statement. “We are confident that the agreement will further bolster Blue Bird’s position as an employer of choice in the region.”
Workers voted 97% in favor of the deal, according to the union.
Dan Flippo, director of the Steelworkers unit responsible for the Southeast, said the deal represented “significant gains” for workers.
The contract calls for all workers to receive raises of at least 12%, with lower-paid employees seeing increases of more than 40 %. The contract also establishes a “defined contribution plan” for the workers’ 401(k) plan.
The company would contribute to the 401(k) whether or not the worker does, with the amount increasing as the worker’s tenure lengthens, the union said.
The profit-sharing component of the contract means workers will receive 4% of Blue Bird’s net income in any year the company’s profit exceeds $30 million. That seems likely to pay off this year: During the past six months, Blue Bird has reported net income of $52 million.
Politically, the contract drew a predictably divided response.
In a statement, President Joe Biden issued congratulations to the Steelworkers and to Blue Bird “for proving once again that meeting our clean energy goals is an opportunity to create good-paying union jobs for American workers.”
He called the contract “a life-changing agreement.”
In contrast, a statement from the office of Gov. Brian Kemp sidestepped direct mention of the union or Blue Bird. Instead, the statement asserted pride in Georgia’s status as a “right to work” state, where the law prohibits unions from forcing members to pay dues, even if the union is required to defend and represent them.
Kemp has joined other Southern governors in a joint statement opposing unionization.
The anti-union climate deepened this year when the Georgia Legislature passed a bill — and Kemp signed into law — new restrictions on some union organizing. The law also prevents companies that voluntarily recognize unions from accessing state tax credits for mega-projects, such as new automotive plants.
That attitude is responsible for Georgia’s “market-based growth we’ve experienced,” said spokesman Garrison Douglas. “We will keep working with partners to create opportunity and protect hardworking Georgians from overtures and tactics that threaten their long-term goals.”
The Blue Bird news offered a counterpoint to the recent high-profile defeat of a movement by Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama to join the United Auto Workers. That organizing effort was widely seen as a potentially monumental step toward unionizing the chain of vehicle assembly factories in the South, plants that are owned by German, South Korean, Japanese and Swedish companies.
While the UAW vowed to keep organizing, the loss was clearly a blow to its campaign.
Yet union supporters have also had reason to cheer.
The UAW recently reached a deal with Daimler Truck workers in North Carolina that provided a big raise. Workers at New Flyer, an Anniston, Alabama.-based maker of electric buses, ratified their first contract. And workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga approved membership in the UAW.
But the news from Mercedes has dampened union expectations.
What was different at Blue Bird was the historical presence of Steelworker union members in the region that gave it an advantage in countering anti-union messages, said Alex Perkins, a USW organizer. “We had relationships with people in the plant so they can see the benefits of the union.”
In the Southeast, the Steelworkers union has large memberships at Carrier in Memphis, the USX plant in Birmingham and a number of companies, including International Paper, Graphic Packaging, Georgia Pacific and Goodyear, Perkins said.
The contract is good for both workers and company, he said. “When people feel paid a fair wage and treated fairly, when they come to work, they are going to be more productive.”
About the Author
