ELKVIEW, W.Va. — Jennifer Patton, a Clendenin resident and an employee at the Elkview Tudor’s Biscuit World location says not being paid correctly and work conditions during COVID-19 were the last straw before she thought about forming a union with coworkers.
In November, a group of workers joined Patton in an attempt to meet with their district manager in Sissonville about the desire to join a union. On Monday, Patton was joined by dozens of union leaders around the state including UFCW Local 400 to support Tudor’s workers.
A “Union yes, Tudor’s no, union-busting has got to go” chant echoed through Main Street in Elkview.
Patton told MetroNews employees are looking for better working conditions and fair treatment.
“At the end of the day, I want to be treated like I am a person. That’s not asking too much to come here, do your job and treat me with respect like I treat you with,” she said.
Patton said there has been discrepancy with her paychecks recently, accusing the company of not giving check stubs for nearly a month. Patton said communication with her bosses is near impossible.
“They are wrong half the time,” she said of paychecks. “Nobody will talk to you.”
“They don’t talk to us. They talk about us but they don’t talk to us.”
Patton said the majority of her coworkers agree. Seven of them traveled to Sissonville in November:
#BREAKING workers @TudorsBiscuits in Elkview, West Virginia marched on their boss this afternoon to demand recognition of their union! Management called the police on them, but we will keep fighting until their union is recognized and they get the fair contract they deserve! #1u pic.twitter.com/he8GW91TTt
— UFCW Local 400 (@UFCW400) November 18, 2021
“We’ve had a couple that have changed their mind and that’s fine. 90 percent of them still believe the same thing we did from day one. We are all human at the end of the day, you can treat us with a little bit of respect. We are making you millions of dollars,” Patton said.
Tudor’s Biscuit World could not be reached for comment on Monday. The Elkview location is company-owned.