Myths & Facts
Heaven Hill believes union leadership has mischaracterized the terms of the proposed contract with their membership and the media. Below are the myths and the facts regarding Heaven Hill’s contract offer.
Myth:
Heaven Hill is mandating swing shifts or unfair scheduling resulting in a 7-day work week with 2 days off.
Fact:
We know scheduling changes are top of mind for our employees. The proposed inclusion of non-traditional schedules gives flexibility to add shifts, which reduces mandatory overtime and the burden on current employees and their schedules, as requested by the union membership. The flexibility of non-traditional work weeks (something other than Monday through Friday) for select parts of our business is important to improve working hours for current employees and support company growth for generations to come. Any new non-traditional schedule would only apply to new employees or existing employees who choose to opt-in to the non-traditional schedule because it fits their lives better.
- Adding shifts could grow employment and union membership.
- Heaven Hill NEVER proposed any type of shift requiring seven days on and two days off even in a non-traditional schedule. This was never discussed in any conversation with the union.
- No current UFCW member will EVER be required to move from a traditional to non-traditional schedule – any move would be voluntary and the employee’s choice.
- The vast majority of the available positions in the plant will be on a traditional schedule.
- New hires may apply for traditional or non-traditional schedules available at the time of hire.
Myth:
Heaven Hill is taking away overtime pay.
Fact:
Heaven Hill never proposed taking away overtime for those who work more than a full week. Employees will earn overtime when they have more than 40 paid hours per week. Basing overtime on paid hours during a week ensure that employees are not penalized when on vacation, bereavement leave, jury duty, and other approved paid leave days. Additionally, Heaven Hill will pay time and a half on the 6th day of work and double time on the 7th day of scheduled work, which on a traditional schedule would be Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Non-traditional schedules may have a different 6th and 7th day.
Myth:
Heaven Hill is cutting my health care.
Fact:
We heard from employees early in negotiations that maintaining our top-quality/low cost health care plan was a priority, and our contract does just that. Heaven Hill proposed a health care plan design to ensure employee healthcare contribution levels remain low and are determined in the same manner as the last two ratified contracts. Bottom line, there are no changes to the coverage in the healthcare program. Ratification of this contract results in employee contributions being calculated as they have been for the last 10 years, and we are maintaining the exact same plan design through 2026. Likewise, it caps employee contributions increases resulting from healthcare inflation. The result is some of the lowest employee contributions and best plan design in our industry and, to our knowledge in nearly any industry; better than any plan administered by the largest provider in the region.
Myth:
Heaven Hill is reducing my pay.
Fact:
Heaven Hill proposed guaranteed wage increases in each of the next five years. Combined with the robust health care package, it represents one of the best compensation packages in the industry. Heaven Hill also agreed to remove the two-tier wage scale and increase pay for those affected by up to $3.40/hour.
Myth:
Heaven Hill is taking time away from my family.
Fact:
Heaven Hill takes pride as a family-owned company and values the Heaven Hill families that support us. We respect and appreciate our employees’ contributions and have proposed a contract that addresses the top priorities as noted by union membership, including an industry-leading health care package for our employees and their families.
This contract also allows us to add shifts, create new jobs, and reduce the burdens of mandatory overtime. The proposed changes to schedules provide much greater flexibility and eliminate pain points for everyone. When employees give up a job, Heaven Hill will not replace open positions by moving people or positions to a non-traditional shift. Any move to a non-traditional shift is the employee’s choice.
Heaven Hill also made the proposal to increase the number of total paid holidays with the addition of two paid holidays. Most employees will also receive one additional week of vacation earlier than under the previous contract. This provides all of our employees with more paid time off to spend with their friends and family.
Myth:
Heaven Hill refused to negotiate the contract terms.
Fact:
Negotiations with the UFCW 23D leadership team have been made in good faith over the course of many months to come to agreement on a fair contract for both parties and maintain the collaborative working relationship with our employees and the union. The company has successfully collaborated with the UFCW for decades and it is unfortunate that another collective bargaining agreement could not be ratified. We understand the difficulties being experienced by our striking employees and hope we all return to work together soon. Heaven Hill is disappointed that the parties were unable to reach consensus on an agreement, but Heaven Hill had no choice but to declare impasse in order to proceed with its normal operations.
Myth:
Heaven Hill seeks to undermine union membership through the impasse.
Fact:
We’ve heard from numerous employees in the community that they are in favor of the proposed contract terms and eager to return to work. After multiple post-strike bargaining sessions, it became clear that Heaven Hill and Union leadership would not be able to make progress on agreed terms. Heaven Hill’s declaration of an impasse and implementation of the Last, Best and Final Offer to govern its operations allows employees to return to work under the new contract terms and allows everyone to move forward in a positive direction.