Labor Contract Negotiations at Kemps
Union employees from Kemps met in meetings Friday to hear a labor contract negotiation update and to conduct a strike authorization vote.
Adrian Macias, Recording Secretary and Organizer for Teamsters Local 554, says the majority of those workers authorized the strike vote, giving leverage to the workers that are part of the negotiating committee. Macias says the union has been in negotiations with Kemps since March of this year and that last week the company came back with what he termed a “disrespectful offer.”
He told us the union is giving the company an ultimatum to respond by Wednesday of this week with a new proposal.
Macias says that the strike authorization vote is a union procedure to get worker input and at this time a strike has not been scheduled.
Last week Teamsters Local 554 sent a notice to all Kemps union employees at their Le Mars, Clear Lake, Altoona, and Omaha locations advising them of three different meetings that were held Friday at the Holiday Inn Express in Le Mars.
**************************************
Le Mars City Council Agenda
The Le Mars City Council meets tomorrow (Tuesday, August 19) at 12 noon.
The Council will consider approving the ballot language for a bond question in the November 4th election, when Le Mars residents will be asked to consider entering into a loan agreement and to issue general obligation bonds for the construction, furnishing, and equipping a new municipal firehouse on 12th Street Southwest. The ballot question specifies this would be in an amount not exceeding $16-million dollars.
The City Council is also expected to set a public hearing for a wastewater industrial pretreatment facility project. This facility would pretreat all industrial high strength wastewater from Wells Enterprises and Kemps. This project is Phase II of a three-phase wastewater expansion.
Other agenda items include a request from the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce for continued funding of the Facade Grant Program. The program encourages restoration and improvements to commercial facades. The program is administered by the Chamber of Commerce Design Team with assistance from the Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission.
****************************************
Le Mars Fire-Rescue Citizens Academy
The application deadline is this Wednesday (August 20) to attend the next Le Mars Fire-Rescue Citizens Academy. This is an opportunity for Plymouth County residents to learn first-hand about the work of their local fire department. This free, hands-on academy is designed to educate community members about daily fire operations, fire service philosophy, and the wide range of emergency services provided.
The academy will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 6 till 8 p.m. , September 2nd through October 2nd.
Pick up applications at Le Mars Fire Rescue, 45 1st Avenue SW in Le Mars. Or you can request one by email: jmacgregor@lemarsiowa.com.
