Workers at Michigan beef processing plant vote in favor of union

Employees at JBS Packerland, a beef processing plant in Plainwell, Michigan, voted in favor of union representation on Wednesday in an NLRB-supervised secret ballot election. The tally of ballots found 641 votes in favor of representation by UFCW Local 951 and 160 votes against union representation. There were also 8 void ballots and 27 challenged ballots (mainly of employees whose names did not appear on the eligibility list), which were insufficient in number to effect the final election results. 
If no election objections are filed, the union will be certified as the representative of a bargaining unit consisting of approximately 900 employees.
The election was conducted between 5:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday by Craig Sizer, Barbara Kubik, Alex Kassel, and Steve Carlson of the Grand Rapids Resident Office with the assistance of three interpreters to help employees who spoke only Spanish, Burmese, or Vietnamese.
###