Dairy workers with YoCream International Inc., a division of global French food group Danone SA, voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 305 in Portland, Oregon. “We’re very satisfied that we are getting representation from the Teamsters because the Teamsters represent almost all of the dairies in our area,” said Christopher Greenlee, a lead pasteurizer and one of the 45 new Teamster members at YoCream. “We organized to improve our pay, have better communication with the company and have a say in our work rules.”
YoCream, a family-owned frozen yogurt company founded in 1977, was purchased by Danone for $103 million in 2010. The Danone brand is marketed in the U.S. as Dannon.
In May, 37 dairy workers with Stonyfield Farm in Northern California – also a division of Danone – voted to join San Leandro-based Teamsters Local 853.
“These two significant victories, coming only about a month apart, are the first organizing wins to be coordinated by the Teamsters Dairy Conference in years," said Rome Aloise, international vice president and the newly appointed director of the Teamsters Dairy Conference.
"It marks a big step forward in our renewed efforts to build power for workers in this industry,” PD
—From International Brotherhood of Teamsters news release
