A new 4-1⁄2-year labor agreement has been ratified by workers at the Tyson Foods Inc processed meats plant in Ponca City OK, company officials reported.
The new contract with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1000 takes effect immediately. It includes a ratification bonus of $250 and pay increases for production workers over the first 49 months of the 55-month agreement. These increases will eventually move the plant’s base production wage to $10.25 an hour and top production pay to $11.25 an hour.
Starting production pay at the plant has been increased to $8 an hour. The new contract also moves the starting rate for maintenance workers to $11 an hour and provides increases that will eventually move top maintenance pay to $14.95.
Various benefit changes, which take effect Jan 1, 2005, include implementation of the same Tyson health care plan in place at virtually all of the company’s other facilities. Under Tyson’s basic medical plan, the company pays for 75% of the cost while workers contribute 25%.
The Ponca City plant employs almost 600 people, including 500 represented by Local 1000. The plant produces deli-style luncheon meats sold under brand names such as Tyson, Russer, Wilson, and Thorn Apple Valley.
Tyson operates similar processed meat facilities in Cherokee IA, Independence IA, and Houston TX.