More Photos of Labor Community Rally in Support of Koch plant workers
July 24, 2005 Rally
Morristown, Tennessee

East Tennessee JwJ coordinated community support for the campaign, working with a diverse range of organizations, churches, and concerned individuals that included Interfaith Worker Justice, the Highlander Center, Centenary United Methodist Church, the Southern Empowerment Project, and U. of TN workers and students. Community members showed their solidarity at union meetings, wrote letters to Koch management, and gave the workers their moral support and their prayers. On July 24, hundreds of supporters converged in Morristown to hear from workers and organizers and to show their support. These varied efforts were sufficient to draw national attention, and the campaign was covered in a major article in the New York Times.

After this show of strength by the workers and their allies, Koch Foods announced that it would remain neutral towards the workers' choice to organize a union. On September 8 and 9, 2005, workers voted overwhelmingly (465 to 18) to join the UFCW! East Tennessee JwJ and other community allies are standing by the workers as they negotiate a contract to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions at the plant.

February 2006 National Jobs With Justice Update

Recent History: