A new three-year contract for Local 1421 members at the Stepan Company includes annual raises of 3 percent and other improvements, as a result of the activism of workers in the shop.
The hourly shift differentials were increased by 15 cents, to $1.15 for the evening shift and $1.25 for the midnight shift. The premium for workers on swing shifts was increased from $2.50 to $2.75.
The new contract increases the number of vacation days a worker may take as emergency vacation from three to four. Workers at Stepan – a chemical manufacturer – receive an annual meal allowance, and that was increase from $800 to $850. The safety shoe allowance is increased from $250 to $275 per year.
The portion of health insurance premiums paid by employees increased from 25 to 30 percent for family coverage, and from 20 to 25 percent for single coverage. A new profit sharing benefit will go into effect in 2012, with half of the payment to each worker going into the worker’s 401(k) savings plan and the other half into a company stock account for the worker.
The company wanted language that would allow it to take away the attendance bonus from any worker who had a workplace accident or violated a safety rule. The union defeated that, and also increased the attendance bonus from $110 to $120. The company proposed a new drug policy that eliminated the union representation and other protections in the current policy. The union stopped that and retained the existing policy.
The union also improved the severance provisions in the contract, in particular for lower-service workers. If the plant closes, severance pay for workers with one to five years’ service is increased from two weeks to three weeks pay. Workers with from five to ten years will receive seven weeks pay (previously it was six.)
New language will prevent the company from disciplining workers more than 14 days after the alleged infraction occured.
Stepan Anaheim workers wore union stickers on the job for two weeks to reinforce their messages to the company: a fair contract and no takeaways. They signed a petition which a delegation delivered to the human resources office. And the benefitted from coast-to-coast solidarity when UE Local 155 members at the Stepan plant in Fieldsboro, NJ signed a petition to the company expressing support for their California brothers and sisters.
“For the economic times that we’re in, we did pretty well,” says Bryan Martindale, who praised his fellow bargaining committee members and the UE staff for a “wonderful job.” Martindale added, “We’re fortunate to be working for a company that last year made record profits. They’re not losing money like a lot of companies out there. But I think they could have done a little better for us.”
The union bargaining committte was Rogelio Luna, Bryan Martindale and Keith Mills. They were assisted by UE International Representative Leanna Noble and Field Organizer Fernando Ramirez.