Electrolux workers approved a new three-year contract today to replace one that was due to expire at 5 p.m., said Jim Kiser, business representative for the International Association of Machinists District 165, the union that represents the freezer plant's workers.


The vote took place at Apollo High School this morning. Kiser would not release the margin by which the vote passed, but said management was professional to deal with in what has been the most difficult economic environment he has seen.

"The economy's terrible. Unemployment is (high). Health insurance is skyrocketing," he said.

Workers got an $800 signing bonus. They will receive a 25-cent per hour raise on Nov. 18, 2010, and a 30-cent increase in wages the same time in 2011.

The health insurance plan remains largely unchanged. Under the contract, the company carries 80 percent of premiums. In the second year of the contract, workers will see out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs.

Kiser said employees will see an increase in pension in the second and third year of the contract; an increase in life insurance and accidental death in the first year; and it will see an increase in weekly sickness and accident benefits each year.

Workers also saw improvements in training time. In the past if someone bid on a job and got it, they had one day for training. But now workers will get five days, he said.

The new contract covers all 1,400 workers -- including ones laid off last week, Kiser said. Electrolux ended employment on Nov. 13 for 17 workers because of lack of demand for products. Jobs ended for another 142 workers who typically fill in from April 1 to Nov. 15 while other plant employees go on vacation.

Kiser said the company has saved a lot of money on capital and payroll costs with its current staff. At one time, Electrolux in St. Cloud had 1,800 workers; it now has about 1,400. But it still makes 1.7 million freezers a year, he said. And its crew is experienced enough to keep old machines running, he said.

Tony Evans, spokesman for Electrolux, said this afternoon that the company is please with the contract and characterized its passage as an important event.

Earlier this year, the Stockholm-based home appliance maker said it would cut 3,000 workers across the globe. In March it announced it would close a washing machine factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, by the second quarter of 2010, affecting 250 employees. Last month it said it will cut another washing machine producer in Alcala, Spain, by the first quarter of 2011, affecting 450 workers.

The company reported in the third quarter an 8 percent operating margin. Net sales declined 3 percent.