At This Jersey Factory, Pension-Backed Private Equity Takes On Union Workers
Now workers claim that under KKR’s control, Refresco has been dragging its feet on negotiating a first contract with the union and pushing for draconian provisions such as only allowing workers to take weekends off once every eight weeks. KKR’s business model, meanwhile, depends on the pension funds of unionized teachers, firefighters, social workers, and bus drivers.
The plight of Refresco’s nearly 250 workers exemplifies one of the biggest problems facing American labor today: Union workers are, often unknowingly, funding the war on themselves by financing union busting activities through their pension funds.