Mayfield Dairy Farms drivers and dock workers in Georgia voted in late August to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement with historic and comprehensive improvements in pay, working conditions and benefits.

The two units are made up of 100 workers in Marietta, Ga. represented by Local 728 and about 30 workers in Macon, Ga. represented by Local 528. The area-wide agreement covers both locals.

Workers with both Local 728 and 528 endured illegal union-busting behavior in the lead up to the contract agreement.

Mayfield was the subject of a May 2015 complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Region 10, in Atlanta over the company’s refusal to bargain in good faith and other unfair labor practices.

The NLRB found that Mayfield violated the law by retaliating against employees for joining a union and attempting to bargain. Specific violations of federal law by the company included withholding pay, changing health insurance and altering work schedules.

Mayfield is a subsidiary of Dean Foods, the Teamsters’ largest dairy employer with more than 5,000 members. The Georgia workers are the first Dean group that has been organized and won a first contract in more than a decade.

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