On Monday, roughly 80 union members and supporters gathered at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in Eugene. They rallied in support of the ongoing strikes being carried out by the Teamsters Local 206 and 324 against Bigfoot Beverages in Eugene, Bend, Coos Bay, Newport and the Bakers Union 144 strike being carried out against Franz Bakery in Eugene-Springfield.
Randy Meadows is a union representative for the Teamsters Local 324 and represents Bigfoot workers in Roseburg and Newport. He said that he is disappointed with the new contract proposed by Bigfoot in July. The proposed contract would change the union workers’ retirement plans from a pension plan to a 401(k) plan.
At the rally, Brad Currier, a striking worker at Franz Bakery, said the company is treating workers like they are “disposable.” “[They are] treating us less and less like people,” Currier said. “The fact we wanted a work-life balance was alien to them.”
Bigfoot driver Edwin Powell said that workers just want a fair contract.
“We will not stop…we just want a fair contract,” Powell said. “We will not let someone dilute our lives for their own benefit.”
Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor said Bigfoot and Franz have “picked a fight with the wrong group of people…We will never stop fighting till we get a fair contract.”
“When they treat us this way this is what we do,” Trainor said.
At the rally, multiple people, including Trainor and incoming Oregon House Representative Lisa Fragala, called on the University of Oregon and other government institutions to pause their purchasing agreements with Bigfoot.
