Wichita unions throw support behind Topeka Frito-Lay strike and continue PepsiCo boycott
As Frito-Lay workers in Topeka near a possible end to their strike after more than two weeks, Wichita unions that stood in solidarity continue to boycott company products.
“We stand with our brothers and sisters in Topeka,” said Brent Lewis, president of the United Teachers of Wichita union. “They should have the dignity to be actively a part of their families and receive wages, (while) working for a highly profitable company, to maintain a healthy middle class life.”
Frito-Lay and Local 218 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers, which represents the strikers, both spent the last three days at the bargaining table to revisit the union agreement that workers voted down at the beginning of the month. About 600 workers have been on strike against mandatory overtime, pay and working conditions.
The two sides reached a new tentative agreement that addresses employees’ concerns about guaranteed days off, according to a company statement. It also creates more chances for the union to have input on staffing and overtime and maintains wage increases, the statement reads.
Representatives for Local 218 did not immediately respond to phone calls Thursday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that union members will vote Friday on the latest offer.
“We believe this offer addresses the most pressing issues raised by our employees, and we believe it represents a win-win for both the union and Frito-Lay,” the company’s statement reads. “We are urging employees to ratify this offer so they can end the strike and return to work.”
Wichita unions in solidarity
When Frito-Lay workers went on strike, some consumers in Wichita began to boycott products from Frito-Lay and its parent company, PepsiCo. Unions in Wichita have maintained the boycott and many hoped it helped put pressure on the company to return to the bargaining table with Local 218.
Scott Gardner, communications representative for the Machinists Union District Lodge 70 in Wichita, said the union has continued to urge its members to avoid Frito-Lay brand products at the store and when eating out.
“Encouraging the community to withhold from buying those products is the community using their voice,” Gardner said. “Saying we want you to give your people a fair and decent contract.”
District Lodge 70 often posts to Facebook encouraging members to purchase union-made products, and Frito-Lay would be no different if the workers were not on strike.
Gardner has personally boycotted Frito-Lay and PepsiCo products during the strike too. He attempts to buy from brands with unionized labor and would normally purchase those snacks and beverages, so the boycott has impacted his shopping habits.
He said that Kansas communities outside of Topeka are ultimately affected by the strike and its outcome.
“A good contract for Frito-Lay workers will impact our community by raising the standard in the state and surrounding communities for the type of work being performed for both union and non-union employees,” Gardner said.
Lewis, with the Wichita teachers’ union, has tried to make his union’s members aware of the strike and its implications. UTW has not explicitly pushed for teachers to boycott Frito-Lay products, but has posted to its Facebook page about the strike.
He plans to travel to Topeka on Friday and join workers on the picket line if the strike has not come to an end by then.
“We share their expectations that when you show loyalty and work hard for a profitable company, that they would in turn treat an employee with dignity,” Lewis said. “That includes having time to be engaged with family life outside of work.”
SEIU Local 513, a Wichita-based union that represents workers at the city and school district, has also posted to Facebook about the strike in Topeka. This week, the union’s Facebook page re-posted an image asking people to continue the boycott.
National attention on Topeka
The Topeka strike has received national attention, which can be rare for the labor movement in Kansas.
Gardner believes the increased attention has to do with the severity of reports about forced overtime at the plant and the fact that Frito-Lay produces such well-known, name brand products that many households typically purchase.
The goal of the strike and boycott isn’t to hurt the company’s profits so severely, Gardner said. Many unions want the company to do well in hopes that its workers can in turn do well too. However, a strike and boycott sends a message that the business should share in those profits.
“No one wants to strike. No one wants to have to do that,” Gardner said. “We just hope at the end of the day we get a good, fair contract with these companies. But sometimes that just doesn’t happen and you have to make a stand at some point. And that’s what these people have done.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 2:51 PM.
