Union workers at Awrey Bakeries Inc. rejected a take-it-or-leave-it contract proposal for the second time in a week on May 23, leaving the future of the company and its Livonia, Mich., manufacturing facility in doubt, according to an article in the Detroit News.
Union members voted 73-63 to turn down the contract proposal. The 102-year old bakery and union are at odds over a contract proposal that would cut employee pay by $2 an hour, lay off 26 workers and consolidate two work shifts into one. The union previously rejected the proposal by six votes, according to the article.
It's still unclear clear if the Awrey name would die or if production might move to a 58,000-sq.-ft Atkins Elegant Desserts baking facility in Noblesville, Ind., which Awrey acquired in 2009. Even if the union had approved the deal, the company planned to cut 26 union members. Workers also expressed frustration because they said just last year the union and Awrey agreed to a six-year contract.
Read the entire Detroit News article here.