Employees at Mountaire’s Selbyville processing plant will get the chance to vote to get rid of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 27 later this month, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
An employee-led petition last month was accepted by the NLRB, which sets in motion the process to let employees vote to remove the UFCW as their representative. The mail-in ballot will be sent to employees on November 18th and will be due back to the NLRB by December 16th, by 3 pm.
“This has been a long process for our employees to have their voices heard,” said Mountaire President Phillip Plylar. “We support our employees and their right to freely choose whether they want a union or not.”
Last summer, employees asked for decertification of the UFCW but were denied the option due to a technicality. A mail-in ballot was held but the union filed numerous challenges and ultimately, the NLRB threw out the vote without counting it. This fall was the first opportunity employees had to again ask for an election.
Selbyville is the only processing plant owned by Mountaire Farms where unions are present. These unions have been part of the plant since it was purchased by Mountaire in 1977.
