Energizer Teamsters oppose the company’s aggressive outsourcing plans
Press to contact: Kara Deniz Phone: (202) 497-6610 Email: [email protected]
(WISCONSIN) — Teamsters Union continues to fight to protect 600 Energizer jobs in Portage and Fennimore, Wisc. , after the company announced plans to outsource battery production to Singapore and to a non-union facility in North Carolina.
After intense negotiations between Teamsters Local 695 and Energizer, the company this week waived union demands for an economic package guaranteeing worker protections in writing.
This package is not an acceptance of Energizer’s intentions to outsource the work. The staff will continue to fight on multiple fronts, both local and national, to preserve well-paying union jobs in Wisconsin.
“While I am pleased that Energizer agreed to what we were asking, our goal is to never use this agreement,” said Rocco Calo, Vice President of Teamsters Eastern Region. “We will continue to fight Energizer’s reckless plans to shut down these American factories and jobs in Asia. The American communities of Fennimore and Portage have worked hard for years to earn billions of dollars from Energizer, and the decision to destroy these jobs is outrageous.”
The agreement requires Energizer to retain workers for specified dates — with the majority of workers retained until early-to-mid 2024 — and to provide any worker who is eventually laid off with one week’s pay for each year worked at the company, with a $5,000 minimum. The company will also provide COBRA health care coverage and job search assistance for two months.
The plants in Wisconsin Teamsters produce batteries for Energizer’s own retail brands, including Eveready and Rayovac, as well as specialty batteries for hearing aids. In 2020, Wisconsin gave Energizer a five-year, $600,000 tax credit for creating 96 jobs and retaining 453 jobs.
Since 1999, Energizer has received more than $10 million in public subsidies from six states. The company contracts with the US Army and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Last year, Energizer awarded $93 million to shareholders through a quarterly dividend and generated a total profit of $1.1 billion. Within three years, the company had tripled its CEO’s compensation to $9 million.
Founded in 1903, the international Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and ‘Like’ us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.