UE Local 1174 filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board today because workers are being denied their benefits. The company informed employees that Wells Fargo, the bailed-out bank that had already cut off operating credit to the plant, would not approve the expenditure of owed vacation pay. In addition, the company now refuses to comply with a 2 percent wage increase due the employees under their legally-binding collective bargaining agreement or to pay a floating holiday, and has eliminated health insurance coverage.
“Wells Fargo first ends financing, forcing our company to close, and now they won’t pay us what we are owed by law. To us, our vacation, insurance and wages mean everything to our families. But to Wells Fargo it's pennies, not even a blip in their billions. Yet they choose to cheat us out of what we have earned. And to think we helped them out when they needed it!” said Deb Johann, Local 1174 Recording Secretary.
According to Quad City management, Wells Fargo now approves or disapproves all expenditures by the company on a weekly basis.
The charges filed today with the NLRB will now be investigated and a determination made if there is merit to the charges. Workers continue to demand that Wells Fargo do what is necessary to keep the company in business until a sale of the company is finalized. There are currently several interested parties looking to make a bid to purchase Quad City Die Casting. Over 100 people stand to lose their jobs if Quad City Die Casting closes. The economic impact on the community would be $6.1 million annually in lost wages and tax revenue.