Whirlpool's Amana workers approve new contract

Union workers at Whirlpool Corp.'s Amana Division, which the company says is threatened by unfair trade practices by foreign producers, approved a new four-year contract Saturday.

The new contract covers some 1,900 workers at the factory in Middle Amana, a large number of which turned out for the Saturday morning vote in Cedar Rapids.

More than a dozen workers who spoke with SourceMedia were either unenthusiastic or opposed to the four-year deal, which provides wage increases total only $1 per hour over a four-year period.

Union workers at Whirlpool Corp.'s Amana Division, which the company says is threatened by unfair trade practices by foreign producers, approved a new four-year contract Saturday, Sept. 24.

The new contract covers some 1,900 workers at the factory in Middle Amana, a large number of which turned out for the Saturday morning vote in Cedar Rapids.

More than a dozen workers who spoke with SourceMedia were either unenthusiastic or opposed to the four-year deal, which provides wage increases total only $1 per hour over a four-year period.

"We got $1 over four years, and that's crazy," said Jerry Suby, a  veteran employee from Walford. He said the raise was the least he's every received in his 37 years at the plant after accounting for additional employee costs related to health insurance.

The contract also added a new permanent two-tier wage for new hires. Any employee in the seniority system hired after Sunday, Sept. 25, into four labor grade classifications will have a lower starting wage of $13 per hour.

Wages for the new hires will increase to $13.75 per hour on their anniversary date, $14.50 per hour on their second anniversary date, $15.25 per hour on their third anniversary date and $16 per hour on their fourth anniversary date. Their wages will reach a maximum of $17 per hour on their fifth anniversary date.

Several veteran employees said the objected to the new wage tier, even though they would not be affected, because they see it as unfair for employees performing the same work to make substantially different wages.

The Middle Amana plant manufactures Whirlpool's  "bottom mount" refrigerators, which have the freezer compartment with a pull out drawer on the bottom. The company laid off 350 workers in July.

Whirlpool Corp. spokeswoman Kristine Vernier said in a email statement that the company is pleased that employees ratified the four-year contract, and the plant will operate as usual on Sunday, Sept. 25.

Although many employees listed other objections to the contract, they indicated contract expectations were low because of the weak economy and competitive climate in the appliance industry. They said the only option to approval was to strike, and the few strikes at the plant generally haven't brought good contract gains.

A trade complaint filed by Whirlpool Corp. on Wednesday, March 30, claimed unfair refrigerator pricing by Korean manufacturers has harmed sales of refrigerators it makes in Middle Amana.

Whirlpool filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions with the United States Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission naming Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The complaint focuses on the Korean companies' pricing of bottom-mount models that compete against the refrigerators Whirlpool manufactures in Middle Amana.

Machinists Local 1526 business agent Randy Krewson declined to comment on the contract, beyond confirming that a four-year agreement was ratified.

It was the second straight four-year contract at the plant. The lengthy term provides Whirlpool with  long-range certainty about wages and benefit costs, among other things.

State and local officials worked with Whirlpool to bring a line of icemakers to the plant last year after Whirlpool closed its longtime refrigerator plant in Evansville, Ind. The company committed in February 2010 to invest $20 million in plant maintenance and upgrades after the State of Iowa approved a $6.5 million forgivable loan package.