Complaint Review: George Weston Bakery - Arnold Foods - Entenmanns - Brownberry Bread - Country Harvest - Toledo Ohio

It seems es though G.W.B. was going to get the job done cheaper,(cheap labor or cheap labour as it is in Canada). Unfortunately, they didn't owe it to you to be a descent human being just as long as the bottom line looks better.It's all part of Westons' "Operation Simplify". The days of being compensated for doing a great job are over, and it seems as though they would rather pay less for the mediocore job.This is happening from California to New York, and from Canada to Florida, and also overseas.The company, is a good company, but in most cases it's local management making ruthless decisions.Unfortunately, as I said before, they don't owe it to you to be descent human beings. I think Upper and /or Executive management should look into some of those decisions made at regional and local levels,and question their ethics, tactics, and motives as it pertains to the good outlook of the company.It may be, that it just doesn't matter, and if that's the case, shame on them all. Hope it works out, and we'll be praying you and your family.

Found out my husband talked to someone and they said the teamsters paid that union off to strike a deal! Now talk about crooked!! ANyways my husband got his severance check and it was almost nothing as they taxed it 57 percent. The company they outsourced to NFI wont hire any drivers (some already applied) probobaly because everyone is pissed but to make a long story short on my husbands route he drove about 441 miles a day 5 days a week and was home daily. He brought home 1200 bucks on average. He heard the guy doing his run currently is making .32 a mile and that averages out to half or less then what he made. I think the drivers for NFI are realizing how much work is involved unloading trailers/loading them back up that its not worth it. My husband was a very hard worker and cared very much about his job and was commented as being one of the better drivers there. Anyways we are looking but being the holidays its difficult to find anything. Since we have a family OTR is not an option he is looking for local work in SE Michigan/ Toledo OHio area. If anyone knows of any good companies that pay (prefereble by the hour) and deceint benefits let me know. If this outsourcing keeps up the economy will fall big time as truck drivers make up a big portion of it. I just hope and pray God has the perfect job for him and the others that lost theres. Happy New year (hard for me) but will try to keep my chin up. Mel

Sounds like they don't care much for the drivers. Did they consider a sympathy strike or other group activity to show support for the drivers being cut? Sounds like they did it to cut transportation costs. By outsourcing to NFI they are not concerned with shipping expenses other than what NFI wants to charge. NFI can figure out the fuel costs and such. Can your husband qualify for another job within the company?? How about becoming a route driver or something like one of the other posters here commented??

"Melissa, under your union contract, you are entitled to all lost compensation. File a grievance with your union if you lost your job. Go the distance, and you will get paid. A picket line is in order right now. Boycott this scumbag. " Well actually its my husband and they had there lawyers on this but the union is a fairly small one I think Baker's Union and they were just as pissed! Basically because George Weston the owner is not closing all of his company only fired the truck drivers then he can get away with it. My husband recieved a small severance check barely enough to get us a week or so. The new company offered them jobs but refused them (plus the pay and benefits are cut in half) I believe the outsourced company is NFI something and they are already reliezing how much work there is too this (not just drop and hook) and I see them hiring again in the papers. I believe in unions to an extent but they only have so much power and I disagree to the comment about lazy workers I am sure that happens in every company usually when this happens the employee is fired. Anyways to make a long story short my husband is still unemployed but we are looking and maybe this time we will find something like a UAW union which is a little bit bigger so when this happens the workers are protected a little better. IMO though even the bigger unions are not what they used to be after HOFFA passed (LMAO) PS: Found out today George Weston Family is now #7 in US worth 7.9 billion.

"Robert...In a union shop, the jobs belong to the union..not the company. That is what the contract is all about. I doubt very much that a new union facility was built without any union labor. That sounds like anti union propaganda to me. Just like a scab." The paychecks you get are from the company, NOT the Union. If the jobs belong to the Union, then there is no issue here...right? After all, the OP would still have his job. Wait...he doesn't have it any more, because it belonged to the employer. Here you go Steve: By L.M. SIXEL Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Teamsters Union 988 is holding the grand opening this weekend for its new union hall, which is expected to feature Teamsters President James P. Hoffa. But it has become a sour moment for other labor leaders because the Teamsters didn't use union construction workers. They were told by the Teamsters that union contractors cost too much. "No one is happy about it," said Paul Dunnam, organizer of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 716. The electricians, along with other unions, complained to the Houston Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council but to no avail. The council has no leverage over an individual union like the Teamsters because each local is run by its members. "There are serious solidarity issues here," said Richard Shaw, secretary-treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO. Unions are supposed to support each other, said Shaw. He recalled how other unions backed the Teamsters during its last strike against United Parcel Service. Dennis Bankhead, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 988, said he wouldn't comment on the new building, adding it was unlikely any other Teamsters official would have anything to say. This dispute comes at a time when union construction workers are in demand because there is so much work available for skilled tradesmen. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a member union of the international AFL-CIO and an affiliated member of its Building and Construction Trades Department. While Teamsters Local 988 is one of the biggest locals in Houston with more than 2,000 members, it has had a rocky relationship with other labor groups. It withdrew from the local AFL-CIO about a year ago. Another local, Teamsters Local 968, a construction union, has never been locally affiliated. But, Teamsters Local 919, which represents the brewery workers at Anheuser Busch, has long had ties to the Harris County AFL-CIO. Local 988 put its union hall on Interstate 10 up for sale and over the past few months it has been building a 16,246-square-foot building at 4303 E. North Sam Houston Parkway. Other union leaders are still puzzled why the local opted to build nonunion. Robert "Sarge" Robinson, business manager of Plumbers Local Union 68 in Houston, said he remodeled his union's three-building complex in Houston during 1998 and 1999 and did it with union labor wherever possible. "We paid a little extra but the quality was better," said Robinson, whose union covers plumbers in Beaumont, College Station, Victoria and Galveston. "Unions have to support one another." While Robinson said he wouldn't have done what the Teamsters did, he said it's their decision. E. Dale Wortham, president of the Harris Country AFL-CIO, said he wasn't involved in the discussions about the construction but has been hearing complaints from other unions. He speculated that perhaps because Local 988 was paying a mortgage on two properties, it felt it needed to be specially careful how it spent its members' dues. But, Wortham added, "I just can't believe the cost issue outweighed the right thing to do." In other words...the Teamster's had a budget to adhere to, and figured out that they could get the same work done by nonunion workers faster and cheaper. And in reality, much to Dale Wortham's chagrin, THAT is the right thing to do. There's a reason Union membership declines every year.

Melissa, Please give us the following information. 1. The name and local of your union. 2. The date you filed a grievance. You DID file a grievaance, right? 3. Is your union AFL-CIO affiliated? 4. The expiration date of your current union contract. If your current union is NOT Teamsters, you need to contact the TEAMSTERS immediately to organize this company. Please give us all of this information so we may help you.

Companies can outsource their jobs if they want. Did they give the drivers an opportunity to sign on with the company they were outsourcing to?? I am sure the union was aware of this and was aware that the contract was not renewed and that the company did not want to. What is the union doing about it?? Nothing, right??? If so why are you asking for a boycott since the union isn't (or do you speak for the union??)

Melissa, A union contract is a legal binding document in any court of law. It's terms and conditions are iron clad. Which union are we talking about here that would allow this? Please let me know. Robert...In a union shop, the jobs belong to the union..not the company. That is what the contract is all about. I doubt very much that a new union facility was built without any union labor. That sounds like anti union propaganda to me. Just like a scab. Even when a union contract expires, it is in full force and effect under the law. Parties must act in good faith to negotiate and ratify a new contract, unless 1 party serves notice that they do not intend to do so. Therefore, that 20 month thing is irrelevent. Melissa, under your union contract, you are entitled to all lost compensation. File a grievance with your union if you lost your job. Go the distance, and you will get paid. A picket line is in order right now. Boycott this scumbag.

They make me laugh. They cannot compete in the workplace on their own merits, which is why they need a Union to begin with. It's the only way the worst employee gets paid the same as the best. In fact, the only Union employees who actually think they are doing well are the worst. The good ones know they are getting paid the same as the worst ones. In the real world, your pay goes up with your skills, but not in any Union. Your pay only increases with longevity. Independents can survive on their own. they always do. They don't need to fall back on some inane rule so they cannot be fired. You can call them scabs, but the reality is this...You lost your jobs because you were not worth keeping employed. The people replacing you are. The jobs belong to the employer, not the Union. Ask a Union worker who he/she works for. They will always mention the Union, never the company they actually work for. There's your sign. When the teamsters built their new HQ, they hired NON-Union labor to build it. Do I really need to explain why?

I THINK BEING AN INDEPENDENT OPERATOR DOESN'T GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO COMMENT BECAUSE I BELIEVE YOU ARE ONE OF THE PROBLEMS,SCABS LIKE YOU CAUSE HARD WORKING UNION WORKERS TO LOSE THERE JOBS,WAKE UP,YOU CAN'T SURVIVE,PAYING FOR YOUR OWN GAS,TRUCK,HEALTH&BUSINESS INSURANCE,TAXES-UNLESS YOU CHEAT AND DON'T PAY TAXES,AND NOT GETTING PAID ON THE PROMOTIONS,YOUR A LOSER!

I am sorry your jobs have been cut. That is hard to deal with. But asking people to boycott this product hurts many more people. I am an independent route owner for George Weston. I work on commission. I don't know why they are cutting your job, but please consider what you are doing to other families need to make a living also. Good Luck