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ConAgra pledges to pay temps too

By Paul Tambasco
City Editor

Like permanent employees, temporary workers who worked at the Garner ConAgra plant prior to the June 9 explosion will continue to be paid for now, according to the company.

On Tuesday a spokesperson for the Omaha-based packaged foods giant confirmed that all 900 workers at the Jones Sausage Road plant – permanent or otherwise – will be paid under an agreement reached with the employment agency that placed temporary workers with the plant.

“We are providing temporary employees with the same resources that we have provided to our own employees,” said Stephanie Childs, ConAgra’s director of corporate communications. “We are treating them as if they are our own employees.”

The company is providing ongoing counseling services and wages to all permanent employees. Temps are receiving similar services, she said.

“If we offered a service to someone who is a full-time ConAgra employee, we also offered that service to a temp worker.”

ConAgra unsure if temps will receive fund aid

Citing company policy, ConAgra officials declined to disclose the exact number of temps working at the Garner plant; however, several people familiar with its operations said the number ranged from 50 to 100 people in recent months.

Coast Personnel, the employment agency that placed some of the temps, directed questions about the plant incident to its corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. Phone calls inquiring about temps at the Garner factory were not returned.

ConAgra has set up a fund for employees to cover funeral and ongoing medical expenses. The United Way of the Greater Triangle is administering the fund and will create a committee to determine who is eligible and how funds will be fairly disbursed, Childs said.

For now, the company wouldn’t say whether temps will be eligible for fund assistance. As of June 15, the fund had raised $132,000. The company has not said whether it will help place temps in new jobs.

Temp status raises worries, questions

The day after the incident, ConAgra CEO Gary Rodkin said employees would be paid until further notice. Despite the reassurance, several temps expressed concern that Rodkin’s pledge would not extend to them since they lack a union and a long-term contract.

“I asked my supervisor, but he told me nothing,” said one temp, who asked not to be identified for fear of getting in trouble with the company. “He said [the company] doesn’t have an idea of when they’ll know.”

The temp was at the plant during the morning of June 9 and recalls a chaotic scene with falling debris, explosions and thick ammonia fumes. He is worried about getting sick and not having enough money to pay his bills.

Another temp, who also wished to not be identified, figured his next paycheck would be his last.

“After next Thursday [June 18], I don’t know. It’s a big question,” he said.

ConAgra and Coast Personnel finished finalizing the details of a revised contract between the two companies Wednesday, June 17. Temps with questions about services and how to obtain them are advised to contact ConAgra’s Human Resources Department and their employment agency, Childs said.

‘Not fair to leave them out’

In the workplace, temps usually have fewer protections under state and federal employment laws – particularly with regard to potential claims and benefits – according to local legal experts.

When a workplace shuts down suddenly, legal experts say these tenuous agreements can suddenly leave temps without a safety net.

By continuing to pay these temps, the company hopes to convey an appreciation for their contributions, Childs said.

“We care about all of our employees, regardless of their salaries, whether they are part-time, full-time, temp workers. These are our team members. They are our family. Within ConAgra, we take care of our own,” Childs said.

Plant employees agree that their temp colleagues should be compensated like their full-time peers. Although temps have a different relationship with the company, they should be treated the same, employee Sharon Carter said.

“I don’t know how they’ll do it, but [the company] should pay them because they were working there too,” said Carter, who’s been at the plant full-time for more than seven years.

Diane Richardson, who has worked at the plant since 1995, agrees that taking care of temps is the right move.

“They are just as important,” Richardson said. “It is not fair to leave them out and not pay them.”

Related articles:

• Incentives package for ConAgra set
• Investigators look for answers among the rubble
• Search and rescue team assemble for ConAgra

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