Ingredion workers approve new contract

CEDAR RAPIDS - A contract depute at Ingredion in Cedar Rapids that dates back to August 2015 has been settled with the approval of a new six-year contract.

Members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 100-G in Cedar Rapids voted Tuesday to accept the agreement with Westchester, Ill.-based Ingredion. The union represents about 160 employees of the former Penford Products plant at 1001 First St. SW.

Terms of the new contract, which took effect at 3 p.m. Wednesday, were not disclosed by the company or the union.

In an emailed statement, Claire Regan, Ingredion director of corporate communications, called the contract 'a mutually acceptable resolution for both parties.”

Regan said the agreement includes a 'fair, competitive and comprehensive package for the union members and gives the company a reliable workforce in the coming years.”

At the time the previous contract expired, the union said Ingredion was seeking 120 'concessionary” changes to the contract the union previously had negotiated with Penford Products.

Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 100-G filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. An administrative law judge agreed with the union that Ingredion had failed to bargain in good faith and unilaterally made changes in the 'last, best and final” offer it implemented after the old contract expired.

Ingredion appealed those findings.