Local 4-753 members at 3M’s Meriden, Conn., facility are helping in the fight against COVID-19.
The members make filters that are used by Regeneron Pharmaceutical. The filters are needed in Regeneron’s research efforts to develop an effective treatment for the COVID-19 virus.
District 4 Staff Representative Abdellatif El Berchoui said USW members at the facility have been working overtime to help the plant catch up on orders for all of its customers.
The 70 workers also make filtration systems for residences, industry and the commercial food sector.
The local ratified a three-year contract last summer that’s proving important as business increases and the stakes for meeting orders become higher.
Changes to the attendance policy, provisions limiting the use of contract workers and wage increases have all helped retain a skilled workforce and keep the production process flowing for the filters needed by companies like Regeneron and others.
“Our negotiating committee worked very hard on behalf of our members,” El Berchoui said. “In the end, we managed to keep what we had, but we also enhanced existing items in the contract and addressed members’ concerns.”