About 85 members of UFCW Local 1189 who work at S.B. Foot Tanning Co. in Red Wing, Minn., ratified a new contract on June 30 that strengthens wages and benefits. S.B. Foot Tanning Co. is a subsidiary of Red Wing Shoe Co., and the workers produce leather for Red Wing Shoe Co. and other customers.
These members voted to ratify their contract weeks after authorizing a strike over concerns about health care expenses and wages that resulted in the employer returning to the table to negotiate an improved deal. The three-year contract addresses those concerns and includes a $2.25 increase the first year of the agreement; $1.25 the second year; and $.50 the third year, with those in the second pay scale tier moving into the higher pay first scale tier after their eight-year anniversary. The contract also improves the health care plan by providing a health savings account option.
“I’m proud of the members at S.B. Foot for standing together and fighting as a group to improve everyone’s livelihood,” said UFCW Local 1189 President Jim Gleb.
