Nberry Cooperative Case Summary
9-688-122
REV: JULY 7, 2011
Na ational Cranbe erry Co ooperattive, 19996
On
O February 14,
1 1996, Hug go Schaeffer, vice presideent of operatiions at the N
National Cran nberry Cooperative (NCC
C), called his assistant, a Mel O’Brien, into o his office.
Mel, I spen nt all day yesterday revieewing last falll’s process ffruit operatio ons at receiving pla ant #1 [RP1] with Will Walliston,
W
the superintendeent, and talkin ng with the cco-op membeers
[grrowers] in th hat area. It’s obvious to me m that we haaven’t solved our problem ms at that plan nt, yeet. Even though we spen nt $200,000 last winter fo or a fifth Kiw wanee dump per at RP1, o our ov vertime costs were w still outt of control last fall, and th he growers arre still upset tthat their truccks an nd drivers had d to …show more content…
The 27 non-seasonal employees were all members of the Teamsters Union, as were
15 seasonal workers. Seasonal workers could work only between the dates of August 15 and
December 25 by agreement with the union. Most seasonal workers were employed via a state employment agency that set up operations each fall. The employment agency helped in placing seasonal workers in the receiving plant and in harvesting jobs with the local growers. The pay rate for seasonal workers in the process fruit section was $8.00 per hour. They were paid the overtime rate of 1-1/2 times their straight-time rate for anything over 40 hours per week. The straight-time pay rate for the full-year employees averaged $13.00 per hour.
When it was necessary to work beyond 11 p.m., a crew of only eight or nine workers was required to run the holding bins empty and do bulk loading. Although dry fruit could be held in the bins overnight, it was considered undesirable to hold wet fruit any longer than necessary, so wet fruit was always run out before shutting down. The plant never ran more than 22 hours a day, since
REV: JULY 7, 2011
Na ational Cranbe erry Co ooperattive, 19996
On
O February 14,
1 1996, Hug go Schaeffer, vice presideent of operatiions at the N
National Cran nberry Cooperative (NCC
C), called his assistant, a Mel O’Brien, into o his office.
Mel, I spen nt all day yesterday revieewing last falll’s process ffruit operatio ons at receiving pla ant #1 [RP1] with Will Walliston,
W
the superintendeent, and talkin ng with the cco-op membeers
[grrowers] in th hat area. It’s obvious to me m that we haaven’t solved our problem ms at that plan nt, yeet. Even though we spen nt $200,000 last winter fo or a fifth Kiw wanee dump per at RP1, o our ov vertime costs were w still outt of control last fall, and th he growers arre still upset tthat their truccks an nd drivers had d to …show more content…
The 27 non-seasonal employees were all members of the Teamsters Union, as were
15 seasonal workers. Seasonal workers could work only between the dates of August 15 and
December 25 by agreement with the union. Most seasonal workers were employed via a state employment agency that set up operations each fall. The employment agency helped in placing seasonal workers in the receiving plant and in harvesting jobs with the local growers. The pay rate for seasonal workers in the process fruit section was $8.00 per hour. They were paid the overtime rate of 1-1/2 times their straight-time rate for anything over 40 hours per week. The straight-time pay rate for the full-year employees averaged $13.00 per hour.
When it was necessary to work beyond 11 p.m., a crew of only eight or nine workers was required to run the holding bins empty and do bulk loading. Although dry fruit could be held in the bins overnight, it was considered undesirable to hold wet fruit any longer than necessary, so wet fruit was always run out before shutting down. The plant never ran more than 22 hours a day, since