More than 300 Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream workers at production facilities in St. Albans and Waterbury, Vermont, have ratified their first union contract by an “overwhelming” vote, officials from the United Food and Commercial Workers union announced Tuesday.
UFCW leaders said that the workers, members of UFCW Local 371, approved a three-year deal that, in part, allows them to join the union’s health insurance plan and provides wage increases of 16% by late April and 14% over the next three years. The agreement also moves the workers toward a hybrid eight- and 12-hour shift pattern and provides paid parental leave, a 9% company match of a 401(k) plan, and short-term and long-term disability.
The workers received union recognition early in 2024 under a policy implemented by Ben & Jerry’s parent Unilever.
“I’m so proud of my co-workers for sticking together and demanding better. The union difference is clear and joining UFCW Local 371 will make a huge difference for us,” Jeff Johnson, a member of the St. Albans Ben & Jerry’s bargaining committee, said in the announcement. “Joining the union’s health insurance and getting consistent wages means hundreds more in each of my co-worker’s checks each month, and protecting our retirement and our paid time off gives us the security we need in uncertain times.”