After three weeks on strike, about 190 employees at a northern Indiana packaging manufacturer are considering a new contract this week.þþA federal mediator recommended a new contract to end the strike between union workers and their employer, MonoSol, after hours of negotiation on Sunday, the company and a union official told IPB News.þþMonoSol, a subsidiary of Japan-based Kuraray Co., makes water-soluble packaging used for products like Tide Pods.þþThe employees, represented by Teamsters Local 135, said they are on strike over a contract provision that allows the company to force them to work overtime at the LaPorte plant. The union alleges that often results in work weeks of more than 60 hours.þþThe mediator-recommended contract would guarantee no forced overtime for at least two years, a MonoSol spokesperson said in an email. The spokesperson said the company agreed to that and other “concessions” including an increased signing bonus and additional wages for employees in their fourth year.þþThe union workers are set to vote on the contract Friday, the spokesperson said. Union representatives did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.þþIn past statements, MonoSol has pushed back on allegations of forced overtime. The company claims “97 percent of the time, workers volunteer for the extra hours” and that most work an average of “53.84 hours during each eight-day personal work schedule.”þþIn an email, the company spokesperson argued MonoSol's willingness to guarantee no mandatory overtime in the new proposed contract is evidence that those allegations were untrue.þþÿWe also want to continue our brainstorming discussions with employees to find a collaborative long-term solution to balance issues of attendance and its impact on overtime,ÿ the spokesperson wrote.þþBut the union has said disagreement about the contract provision allowing forced overtime is what led to the strike.
Source: wfyi.org
