July 1, 2006
Each year, many businesses are faced with restructuring, mergers, downsizing, contract disputes and other factors affecting relationships between management and employees. BFL&S learned of a situation that began to unfold on Feb. 5 in Girard, Kan., when 39 bargaining-unit employees (production workers and press operators) were locked out of Forms Manufacturing Inc. (FMI) during a union contract dispute. More than four months later, a new contract has been ratified, but not before lawsuits, appeals and the loss of union label work during that period. The last contract had expired in April 2005. FMI and Global Communications Conference/International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) Local 235-M met
