Say Cretex Workers On Strike in Shakopee, It's Not Fair

“I’m here for my family because they want to take my future away,” said Benito, a worker who is on strike at Cretex Companies’s Shakopee location. Benito did not want his last name published.

He has worked at the company for 14 years and has built up a pension to which the company contributes funds. Contributions from the company have reached $4.07 per hour for some workers, but Cretex no longer wants to contribute to the pension.

Instead, Cretex has proposed 401(k) contributions. Cretex Companies President Matt McAllister was out of the state and unable to respond to calls for comment.

The dispute has caused union workers represented by Laborers Local 563 to go on strike.

Steve Buck, business agent for Laborers Local 563, said that pensions are more secure than 401(k). The 401(k) can eventually run out of funds, he argued, while workers receive a percentage of their pension for life after retirement.

“While you’re working, you put as much money as you can into your pension, so you can retire with security,” Buck said. 

Workers want to retire at an age that they can enjoy it, he added.

Another Cretex union member, Steve, who also did not want his last name published, explained that he has worked at the company for 21 years. Not only does he not want company contributions to his pension to end, but he expressed concern over the workers who have less than five years with the company. They won't have a pension at all, he said.

Union members at the Cretex Shakopee facility went on strike on June 19, according to a Laborers Local 563 press release. About 40 workers are participating in the strike, about half of whom are Hispanic or Latino.

Laborers Local 563 also announced that radio ad spots have begun airing on two Spanish-speaking stations: Radio Rey AM 630 and La Mera Buena FM 107.5. The union hopes that the ads will add a more “human element” to the strike.

“It’s not right for the company to take away the pension when so many of us have put in so many years or work,” said striking worker Alvaro Puente in the recent press release. Puente is one of the workers featured in the radio ads.

Benito also emphasized had hard his colleagues and he has worked for the company.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Benito said. “Why do they want to do that to us? We don’t understand.”