Dive Brief:
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Workers at Ben & Jerry’s flagship ice cream plant in Waterbury, Vermont have voted to unionize, according to a statement from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
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UFCW said Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, “agreed to neutrality, paving the way for workers” to unionize. “We are glad to see Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever live up to their stated values by recognizing their workers’ right to unionize instead of forcing a long and drawn out election process,” said UFCW Local 371 President Ronald M. Petronella.
- Ben & Jerry’s has regularly advocated for social causes such as ending modern slavery and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Dive Insight:
The independent board of Ben & Jerry’s, which controls social responsibility matters, was formed as part of its merger agreement with Unilever in 2000. Since then, Ben & Jerry’s has continued to align itself with causes supporting human rights. As a result, it’s not surprising that Unilever agreed to recognize the union and the decision by its workers to join it.
In a joint statement provided by the union, Unilever said that “in keeping with Ben & Jerry’s commitment to being a values-led organization with a progressive social mission, we respect our employees’ decision.” It went on to say that its “priority is to collectively bargain in good faith to eventually reach a fair and equitable contract.”
The vote at the Waterbury facility comes after the majority of the 39 workers at Ben & Jerry’s store in Burlington, Vermont voted to unionize last spring, making them the first Ben & Jerry’s location to do so.
