Update:
Toronto Protest Exposes Jeld-Wen's Anti-Worker Conduct in Australia
TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2011 /CNW/ - Global manufacturer Jeld-Wen's treatment of its Australian workers was denounced today at an international conference in Toronto. United Steelworkers (USW) members distributed leaflets to participants at the Greenbuild 2011 International Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, exposing the anti-worker tactics of Jeld-Wen subsidiaries in Australia.
A global manufacturer of windows and doors, Jeld-Wen is a corporate exhibitor at Greenbuild, the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. Hundreds of Australian workers "have been either locked out or forced on strike during negotiations for better wages and benefits with global door and window manufacturer Jeld-Wen," stated the leaflet distributed to conference participants by the USW.
The USW is a key ally of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, which represents the Australian workers. Even though the Australian workers earn less than the average wage in their manufacturing sector, "Jeld-Wen's subsidiaries are demanding workers accept wage increases far below the consumer price index and the current inflation rate," the leaflet added.
"Our view is that a green job also has to be a good job - with fair pay, the highest standard for health and safety and respect for the workers' right to form a union and bargain for better working conditions," said Ken Neumann, United Steelworkers' Canadian Director and a guest speaker at Greenbuild. "Otherwise it is only a race to the bottom, economically and environmentally."
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2011/04/c9335.html
Canadian Unions Caution Onex Over Jeld-Wen Acquisition
12 September 2011
BWI Response:
Solidarity campaign: ACT NOW! Support CFMEU's pressure on Jeld Wen
The BWI stands behind the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) members at Corinthian Doors and Stegbar, owned by American company Jeld-Wen, who have been treated with disrespect. Several hundred members, spread over four Australian states, have been locked out of their workplace for taking protected industrial action and refusing to sign an agreement which would see their real wages reduced. The company’s offer is 1% below the current consumer price index for most of the workforce.
Despite members agreeing to moderate wage claims during the global financial crisis in order to help Jeld-Wen to remain competitive and profitable, the company demands workers to accept less. In Australia Jeld-Wen operates the Corinthian, Stegbar, Regency and Airlite, door and window manufacturing brands, and has made a pattern offer of 2.5%, 2.6% and 2.9% over the three year agreement.
The BWI is appalled that a multinational company which has the money and willingness to sponsor professional sporting teams is unable to come to the table and negotiate a fair and reasonable wage increase with the union members who helped build the company.
The BWI supports the CFMEU’s action and pressure on the company and believes it can win a positive result, showing the necessary respect for the workers. Furthermore, the BWI calls on Jeld-Wen, and all Jeld-Wen owned companies, to reward the hard work and commitment of workers and the union to the company.
The BWI is asking for YOUR support in putting pressure on the company, by sending the below letter to the company or a variation in support, you can submit @ http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?index=3685
Corinthian Industries (Australia) Pty Limited
New South Wales DivisionBy FaxDear Sir,
I support the members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) at Corinthian Doors and Stegbar, owned by American company Jeld-Wen, who have been locked out of their workplace for taking industrial action and refusing to sign an agreement which would see their real wages reduced. According to the information received from the union, your offer is 1% below the current consumer price index for most of the workforce.I am appalled to hear that a multinational company like yours which has the money and willingness to sponsor professional sporting teams is unable to negotiate a fair and reasonable wage increase with the union members who helped build the company. I am looking forward to your swift action,
http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?index=3685
26 September 2011
US Firm Slams Door on CFMEU Members Trying to Catch Inflation
Some 300 members of Australia’s Construction, Forestry, Mine and Energy Union (CFMEU) are locked in a fierce battle with the American door and window-maker Jeld-Wen. Woodworkers of the CFMEU’s Forestry, Furnishing and Timber Building Products Division have been on strike – and locked out five days – at factories in four Australian states.
The central issue is pay. CFMEU has been negotiating with Jeld-Wen subsidiaries Corinthian, William Russell Doors, and Stegbar since June over a new enterprise agreement, but the meagre wage increases offered over a three-year proposal would mean actual pay cuts for workers. In recent talks, the company reshuffled its pay offer but it still fell far short of Australia’s 4.5% cost-of-living rise.
Workers at six factories – including St. Mary’s near Sydney, New South Wales; Dandenong, Cambellfield and Scoresby in Victoria; Regency Park near Adelaide, South Australia; and Canningvale, Perth, Western Australia – took 48-hour strike actions on 6 September. They then were hit by the five-day lockout on 8 September. Workers immediately undertook further and varying strike actions over the last two weeks at the six worksites. Global labour leaders attending the CFMEU’s National Construction Conference in Canberra recently visited the St Mary’s picket line on 16 September, and the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) has picked up the cause and is actively supporting CFMEU members. BWI has launched a protest campaign through its website. Please join that protest here.
CFMEU National lead Negotiator Phil Davies said the revised pay offer given after the company’s lockout ended on 13 September is worse than Jeld-Wen’s original “non-negotiable” pay proposal. If accepted, one-third of all job classifications would actually see a further decline in real wages compared to inflation. “All our members want is fair and reasonable pay and conditions,” he said.
The company is seeking to abolish an attendance-based bonus scheme as well. Meanwhile, the employer has sent letters to workers warning of future lockouts.
Family-run and closely-held Jeld-Wen, started in 1960 by Richard Wendt, purchased the Corinthian factories in Australia and Asia on the cheap during the Asian financial crisis in the mid-1990s, and in 1999 bought Stegbar from a UK-based company. In North America, Oregon-based Jeld-Wen overextended itself in recent years with diversification into ski resorts and holiday properties at the exact time housing and real estate markets crashed.
Next month, Canadian private equity company Onex is expected to close on a US$860 million infusion into Jeld-Wen, giving it 58% ownership of a company that operates 60 manufacturing and distribution sites in 22 countries. The deceased Wendt’s son, Roderick, will cease heading one of the world’s biggest door- and window-makers in exchange for an Onex selectee.
