Teamsters Joint council 16 reported that workers at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, in the Flatiron District, voted recently to join Teamsters Local 553 in a union election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. The 24 cheesemakers, lead cheesemakers, and maintenance employees will now negotiate a union contract with their employer, and hope to raise wages and improve health coverage.

“We love the work we do, but need this to be a good job too,” said Riley Peters, a cheesemaker at Beecher’s. “When you gain experience and take on new responsibilities, your wage should reflect that. That is one of the things we want to address in our union contract. We are proud that Beecher’s cheese will be union cheese going forward.”

Beecher’s workers began their campaign for a union in September, in partnership with the Teamsters. After distributing fliers and organizing with their coworkers, they signed union authorization cards and petitioned for a government supervised election. The vote was 14-6.   The read the entire article, Click Here

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