Striking Cretex Workers Ramp up State Fair Presence to Create Public Awareness and Ask for Support

Workers call on Medtronic to use company’s influence with Cretex to end the 10-week strike

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (August 28, 2013) – In addition to manning the picket lines at Cretex’ Shakopee, Minn. facility, striking union workers are at the Minnesota State Fair educating the public about their fight to keep their earned retirement funds. The workers, members of Laborers Local 563, will be at the Minnesota AFL-CIO both at the corner of Dan Patch and Cooper Avenues at the fairgrounds until the Great Minnesota Get Together ends on Labor Day.

While at the fair, the striking workers will ask the public to make direct contact with Medtronic, a high profile client of Cretex, asking the Minnesota-based leader in medical devices to encourage Cretex to settle the strike. “The State Fair is a great place for our workers to get their message out and to ask for the support of the tens of thousands of people who stop by each day,” said Tim Mackey, business manager for Local 563. “The workers are providing laptops and phones in an indoor, cooler environment so fairgoers can show their support and tell Medtronic to do the right thing, all while taking a break from the heat.”

Cretex manufactures implantable, non-implantable, durables, and disposable medical products for clients including Medtronic.  Over the past several years, Cretex has expanded and consolidated its medical manufacturing holdings under the Cretex Medical brand.  Last year, Cretex indicated that its medical division now accounts for over half of total sales, and the company expected revenues to grow by double-digits this year. 

Members of Local 563 who work at Cretex’s Shakopee, Minn. concrete plant, have been on the picket lines since June 19 when they went on strike to protest company plans to slash retirement benefits.

Negotiations broke down on June 18, when Cretex failed to budge from its unreasonable demand to eliminate pension contributions and slash workers’ retirement package by roughly 80 percent. Under the company’s proposal, employees would see hourly compensation (wage plus retirement contribution) drop by anywhere from $2.91 and $4.07 in 2013 depending on an employee’s age and the amount he or she puts into the company’s 401(k) plan.  Simply put that’s the equivalent of a 12- to 17-percent pay cut at a time when demand for construction materials is on the rise. 

 “The people of Minnesota deserve to hear about these workers’ situation and why they are fighting so hard for what is rightfully theirs,” said Mackey. “The AFL-CIO booth is historically one of the most visited booths at the fair. We hope that people take the time to learn about the strike and send a message to Medtronic that who they do business with is just as important as the products they make.”

In addition to its presence at the Minnesota State Fair, the message of striking workers will hit the airwaves this week when five local radio stations begin airing commercials as part of a public awareness campaign. “This is our most-ambitious radio buy to date,” said Mackey. “We are doing all we can to get the word out. The more the general public knows about this strike, the better our chances for a peaceful and positive end to this situation.”

About Local 563
Local 563 represents nearly 5,000 skilled construction craft laborers that are trained in many facets of the construction industry. These laborers apply their trade in 32 counties in Minnesota and the state of North Dakota. Local 563 is affiliated with Laborers’ International Union of North America LIUNA, based in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit the strike Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Local563WorkersOnStrike  or Local 563’s micro site at www.cretexworkers.com

About Cretex Companies, Inc.
Cretex, established in 1917, is a privately held, diversified manufacturing company headquartered at 311 Lowell Ave. NW in Elk River, Minnesota. Cretex Concrete Products provides reinforced concrete pipe and other precast and prestressed concrete products serving the infrastructure needs of the central United States. Cretex Companies employs about 1,800 people in 35 locations in 11 states.

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