Quincy Quarles, a forklift operator at Schnellecke Logistics, estimates that he earns about $160 a day.
On those wages, the company’s employees can afford to miss maybe one day of work, Quarles said, but if an issue like illness causes them to miss two or three days, that puts a strain on their finances.
“Schnellecke is not a bad company at all,” Quarles said by phone. “They’ve done good. They’ve provided jobs. But at the same time, leadership has to understand employees are valuable. Sometimes we get to the point where — whether we’re a director, whether we’re a CEO, whether we’re on the board — we fail to understand we was where the employee was.”
Inspired by the successful contract push at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, workers for Schnellecke Logistics recently voted by a 2-to-1 margin to join the United Auto Workers, according to the union. The vote tally was 183 to 91 in favor.
(READ MORE: UAW strike hits GM truck supplier American Axle)