SUFFOLK, Va. – Hundreds of workers at the Lipton Tea Factory have voted to unionize.
Lat week nearly 200 workers voted to unionize with UFCW Local 400 of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union.
The Lipton plant has operated in Suffolk for over 60 years and produces almost all of the Lipton tea sold in North America.
The company hopes to expand its workforce which could nearly double the 200 person workforce they already have.
The workers held a press conference Monday morning announcing their victory.
“For the last ten years, we’ve seen our benefits decline. By standing together as one, as a union, we hope we can stop the bleeding now before it’s too late,” explained Alvin
Brown, an Operations Technician who celebrated his 21st year with the company on Monday.
Virginia Senator L. Louise Lucas, who represents the district the plant is in, was there to support the workers.
