The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International AFL-CIO/CLC, Local 369, voted to accept the co-op's offer. The contract went into effect July 23.
The contract calls for an increase in wages over five years. Other terms include updates to pension benefits, pension lump sum death benefits and life insurance benefits.
"Our union workforce — which constitutes approximately 400 employees — is critical to the success of our organization," president and CEO Steven Domm said in a news release. "We respect our employees' right to collectively bargain, and we are very pleased that both parties came to the table and worked in good faith to reach an agreement."
Domm called the contract a win "for our employees, farmers and community."
The beet sugar cooperative, www.smbsc.com, is a producer of refined sugar, liquid sugar, pulp pellets, molasses and separator molasses solubles from sugar beets. It is owned by approximately 500 farmer shareholders who raise nearly 120,000 acres of sugarbeets.
The co-op's facility in Renville slices 3.6 million tons of sugarbeets each harvest season, producing more than 800 million pounds of sugar.
Source: www.wctrib.com