In recent years, however, employees and union members say the facility where Doritos, Cheetos and Toasties are made has become a more toxic work environment.
Hundreds of Frito-Lay workers at the Topeka facility are in the third week of a strike over what union leaders describe as long hours, forced overtime, stagnant wages, and a declining quality of life. It is the first strike at the plant in its decades of operation.
Union members of Bakers, Confectioners, Tobacco Workers and Cereal Millers Local 218 have asked the company to provide better working conditions and pay for snacks. His complaints also include so-called “suicide shifts,” in which employees work a full eight-hour day and four overtime hours, days before the next shift.
Anthony Shelton, the union’s international president, said, “Workers don’t have enough time to see their families, do housework, take on extra charges or even get a good night’s sleep.” July 12 announcement. “This strike is about working people having a voice in their future and positioning themselves for their families.”
Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo, said in a statement that claims about the long hours were “grossly exaggerated.” He also pointed to a contract offer before the strike that would limit the overtime limit to 60 hours and eliminate what was known as the “compression shift.”
Corinna Christensen, Communications Director of the Central Union of Pastry Oven, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Cereal Mills He told CNN on Thursday that negotiations had been completed and that he would not comment further after the members’ vote. Frito-Lay did not respond to specific requests for comment from CNN, but noted public statements released this week.
Workers feel they have been “pushed away”.
As a nation recovers from the pandemic, PepsiCo recently reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street estimates: Frito-Lay North America grew its organic revenue by 6%. saw
However, workers at the Topeka plant are feeling burned.
Union leaders said in a podcast interview last week that they have been asking management for years to address staffing shortages that have led to forced overtime and long shifts, but the problems have not been adequately addressed. Not resolved.
“Before we went on strike, the employees were already under 100, and that’s where a lot of the overtime comes in,” said Local 218 Chief Executive Paul Klemme.
That’s according to Frito-Lay employee and union representative Mark McCarter, who has worked at the Topeka facility for more than three decades. VICI who, despite his long career with the company, earns $20.50 an hour and has not received a proper raise in ten years.
“I think people have been pushed to the brink,” he told Dame. “COVID created a little bit of that. During COVID, managers started working from home. People see that and realize they have other options. Everyone is hiring and raising their salaries. Because no one wants to…