Pepsi workers strike over wages, insurance costs

[cubby1223]

Are you just pulling #'s out of your ass? There is NO way consumers would have to pay anywhere near 20% more for a product in order for these works to get a raise. Likely not even 1%.

Pepsi employees will get a substantial raise when there is competition for their workers at rival companies. There is not going to be competition for those workers unless there is a mass upheaval in consumer demands and spending habits.

 

[Dman8777]

Pepsi employees will get a substantial raise when there is competition for their workers at rival companies. There is not going to be competition for those workers unless there is a mass upheaval in consumer demands and spending habits.

...or when the employees unionize and negotiate better terms with management... as they are trying to do.

 

[trenchfoot]

Yeah, it works out so well for companies to cease production and lose the income that goes along with it.

As a former UAW member of 30 years, I can tell you with the utmost authority that management does not goad workers into striking. There is no representative of management down at the union hall pumping their fist in the air and convincing workers that hitting the picket lines is in their best interest.

Where the notions come from that you're offering up is a puzzlement to me. If it's so advantageous to management to put workers out on strike they should just close down the company permanently and live on easy street for the rest of their days.

Edit: I'm going to go a little further with this. Let's use Hostess as an example. Why did Hostess seek concessions from its workers? The lib thought is always that management wanted to fatten up their wallets. This is what non-thinking people assume and it wraps it all up for them very tidy. But consider that our government has declared war on the snack food industry. Forget about whether that is justified or not because that's not relevant to the point I'm trying to make. So, what is Hostess to do when our government has decided that they essentially must go out of business? They hunker down and transition into survival mode.

So, has the government declared war on high calorie beverages that are made with High Fructose Corn Syrup with no nutritional value that are making our people overweight and contributing to high diabetes rates? You know the answer. What does Pepsico make?

Think. Not with emotion, with your brain.

Well, as a shop steward/union business agent for 20+ years, I've seen all kinds of ploys being hatched on both sides of the table. Most of which having to do with getting the public to sympathize with "their" side. Then there's all of those ego trips, personal vendettas being deployed as retaliation from previous negotiations, and both sides playing on the "emotions" of the other side to rattle and derail their determination and resolve. The psychological/propaganda warfare going on in negotiations really is a large part of who "wins" or "loses".

Sure, ultimately, it all boils down to how many $$$ get split between management and the rank and file, but the gamesmanship toward slicing up that pie made of currency is where the rubber hits the road.

This, of course, is mostly dependent on whether the actual existence and prosperity of the company in negotiations are of the utmost importance to both sides.

 

[dmcowen674]

Laureyw27
Junior Member

Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1

Know the facts

Pepsi offered to raise insurance over 120 a week while offering no increase in income.

The new insurance also has a 9,000 deductible, while current insurance is 500 per year.

Their wonderful raise would be an 800.00 bonus once a year taxed at 40%.

Thats the crap they have been offered.

I know I've seen the contract.

For some reason the media is not covering this strike on the news at all.

Makes you wonder why?!? There has been accidents where two employees were injured during the strike that also has been omitted by the media. I'm proud to see people stand up for their rights! When will we all stop being cattle and stand up for what's right? These people on strike are finally showing the true American way. Stand up for what you believe in.

I know of personally of two local restaurants that have switched from Pepsi to Coke products due directly to this strike.

The media will not cover this until you can't get Pepsi in Indianapolis at all.

 

[Fayd]

Since 1989, Pepsi has given over $18 million dollars to our esteemed politicians. They have also spent over $36 million dollars on lobbyist.

How much have those 30 members of Teamsters Local 135 paid?

And while I normally root for the little guy, I can't get too excited about a company that makes millions by selling sugared water to children.

Uno

different scales. compare against the teamsters union in general, or at the very least the proportion of teamsters union who works for pepsi. these 30 members work for a single bottling plant. pepsi has many.

 

[Fern]

I think it should interest some of you to know that this story is not about PepsiCo, the international beverage company. It is about an independent bottler/distribution company. It's a relatively small company and of no real national interest.

Fern

 

[Sonikku]

I envy the baby boomers who's going on strike sometimes resulted in an outcome that did not always involve jobs being relocated to ever poorer slums.

 

[werepossum]

Pepsi offered to raise insurance over 120 a week while offering no increase in income. The new insurance also has a 9,000 deductible, while current insurance is 500 per year. Their wonderful raise would be an 800.00 bonus once a year taxed at 40%. Thats the crap they have been offered. I know I've seen the contract. For some reason the media is not covering this strike on the news at all. Makes you wonder why?!? There has been accidents where two employees were injured during the strike that also has been omitted by the media. I'm proud to see people stand up for their rights! When will we all stop being cattle and stand up for what's right? These people on strike are finally showing the true American way. Stand up for what you believe in.

Thank you for registering to share your wealth of wisdom with us. Why, many of us did not realize that people had the right to not only make more money, but to have other people pay their increased costs as well.

Translation: Dumb ass.

Sounds like their proposed health care plan mimics Obamacare. How does a proletariat argue against that?

I always laugh at how labor feels that only they are burdened with taxes.

Strikes are effective when labor has the upper hand. Striking in our current labor market is about as dumb as it can get. Ask the Hostess workers how it turned out for them. I wonder how labor leaders sleep at night when they are putting so many out of work.

Yep, although with a small bottling company they might be able to put them out of business depending on company reserves.

I think it should interest some of you to know that this story is not about PepsiCo, the international beverage company. It is about an independent bottler/distribution company. It's a relatively small company and of no real national interest.

Fern

Exactly the kind of company that could be expected to have health insurance not up to Obamacare standards and not have a big reserve pile of cash to bear those additional costs.

 

[dmcowen674]

I think it should interest some of you to know that this story is not about PepsiCo, the international beverage company. It is about an independent bottler/distribution company. It's a relatively small company and of no real national interest.

Fern

Then it should just be shut down.

 

[highland145]

..

 

[Victorian Gray]

I think it should interest some of you to know that this story is not about PepsiCo, the international beverage company. It is about an independent bottler/distribution company. It's a relatively small company and of no real national interest.

Fern

Citation please as everything I've been able to find about this plant indicates that it is, indeed, a part of Pepsico.

example:

"About 345 members of Teamsters Local 135 went on strike Thursday at a PepsiCo bottling plant on Indianapolis’ Northwestside.
PepsiCo said it doesn’t expect disruptions of supply of beverages to customers due to the strike.


“As we work with the union to settle this matter, we’ll continue to fully service our customers and consumers in the region,” the company said in a statement from spokeswoman Gina Anderson."


http://www.indystar.com/story/money...-strike-pepsico-bottling-plant-wages/8609857/

 

[dmcowen674]

Citation please as everything I've been able to find about this plant indicates that it is, indeed, a part of Pepsico.

example:

"About 345 members of Teamsters Local 135 went on strike Thursday at a PepsiCo bottling plant on Indianapolis’ Northwestside.
PepsiCo said it doesn’t expect disruptions of supply of beverages to customers due to the strike.


“As we work with the union to settle this matter, we’ll continue to fully service our customers and consumers in the region,” the company said in a statement from spokeswoman Gina Anderson."


http://www.indystar.com/story/money...-strike-pepsico-bottling-plant-wages/8609857/

“We’re disappointed that Local 135 has decided to strike. After a series of good-faith negotiations, we agreed to the union’s health-care proposal and we offered a wage and pension plan increase in line with others around the country,” the company said in a statement.

$9,000 deductible is in line with others around the country?

Fuck just shutting this plant down, shut the whole Company down.