Ingredion Cedar Rapids strike stretches on

CEDAR RAPIDS — The strike by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 100G against the Cedar Rapids facility of multinational ingredients maker Ingredion — now in its 15th week — doesn’t appear to be anywhere near likely to be settled until after the Thanksgiving holiday, the local’s president said Thursday.

In the most recent face-to-face meetings between the two sides, on Nov. 7 and 8, “both days were very productive,” Mike Moore, the local’s principal and president, told The Gazette Thursday.

The number of disputed items between the union and the Westchester, Ill.-based manufacturer had been whittled down from 26 items to five, Moore said.

Key among the remaining issues, he said, was Ingredion’s refusal to include an amnesty clause in a proposed settlement. In an amnesty clause — a standard element in collective bargaining agreements, Moore said — the company agrees not to penalize returning employees — through disciplinary action or firing.

On Friday, Nov. 11, Ingredion representatives told union officials the corporation “needed to regroup,” in Moore’s words.

No further meetings have been scheduled.

Moore said the union remains “up for talking,” even as soon as before Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

“Ingredion and the BCTGM have remained in contact since our most recent meeting on Nov. 8. We expressed our willingness to continue negotiations if doing so would remain productive and likely result in our reaching an agreement,” Becca Hary, Ingredion corporate communications director, wrote in an email to The Gazette on Thursday.

“Furthermore, both sides are in the process of exchanging written proposals because of the meetings. We believe that Ingredion made significant movement in several areas in response to the union’s feedback.”

Hary added that, “We prefer not to comment on the specifics related to the proposal and ongoing negotiations. We look forward to continuing our discussions and making further progress toward a resolution.”

Ingredion’s southwest Cedar Rapids facility has 127 hourly union employees and 46 salaried non-union employees, according to Ingredion.

Ingredion’s southwest Cedar Rapids facility has 127 hourly union employees and 46 salaried non-union employees, according to Ingredion.

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