SELBYVILLE, DE – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has officially certified the election results in which Mountaire Farms employees — who were members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 27 union – overwhelmingly voted to remove the union.
Mountaire employees at the company’s Selbyville plant first attempted to remove the UFCW during the summer of 2020, when employees asked for decertification of the UFCW but were denied the option due to a technicality. A mail-in ballot was held but the union filed numerous challenges and ultimately, the NLRB threw out the vote without counting it. This past fall was the first opportunity employees had to again ask for an election.
In October 2021, an employee in Selbyville and member of the UFCW filed a second petition to decertify the union. The mail-in ballot was sent to employees in November and had to be received by the NLRB by December 16th, 2021.
Selbyville is the only processing plant owned by Mountaire Farms where unions are present.
The NLRB counted all eligible votes on December 16th and more than 80 percent of Mountaire employees voted to decertify the union. The final vote count of 356-80 was made official this week.
“More than anything else, I am glad that our employees were finally allowed to be heard. I thank them for their confidence in Mountaire and we look forward to introducing these team members to their new benefits package” said Phillip Plylar, president of Mountaire.
These employees will now be eligible for supplemental life insurance for themselves, and dependent life for their spouses and children. In addition, eligible employees will have the option to participate in the company’s 401(k) plan, including company matching and profit sharing.
These employees will also now be eligible for 40 hours of vacation after just 90 days of employment, an additional 40 hours after 180 days, and 80 hours after 1 year.
In addition, employees are now able to deal directly with the Human Resources office if they have any concerns or issues, instead of going through a third party, which often slowed the resolution process.
About Mountaire
Mountaire® is a registered trademark of Mountaire Corporation. Mountaire Corporation and its affiliates, Mountaire Farms Inc. and Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc. (collectively, “Mountaire”), are agricultural food production and processing companies providing work for almost 10,000 people at facilities in Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Mountaire is a privately owned, Jesus-centered company with a commitment to the communities in which our employees work and live. For more information, visit www.mountaire.com.or visit us on Facebook.
