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Business & Tech

LOCKED OUT: Dichello Situation Not Getting Better for Union

The company won't allow chairs or a warming fire barrel on their property for locked out employees.

It's been two weeks since union employees reported to work at Dichello Distributors on Marsh Hill Road and found that the company had locked them out over a contract dispute.

• Union employees from Dichello met with unemployment today to determine if they were eligible for benefits.

• They were told that there will be a determination in 7 to 14 days.

• The company offered to put the union workers on their healthcare which would cost $49 for individual and $142 for family.

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• The employees are currently getting their healthcare benefits for free through the union.

• The company reportedly wants to change from time-and-a-half to 40 per week from the over 8 hours for a day.

"Scabs" have been hired to drive the trucks and deliver the products to businesses.

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Security guards are video taping employees every time a truck pulls past the line to make sure everyone behaves.

The company also is reportedly making things more difficult for the locked out workers. This week the picketers were no longer allowed to have chairs on the line because it is company property and their written request for a fire barrel to help stave off the cold was denied, also because it is "not permitted" on company property.

Many of our Patch readers said they were stunned to hear that Dichello Distributers, Inc., has agreed to fund an estimated $71 million to construct a new train station on its property in a partnership with the state and town.

According to state Rep. Paul Davis, the state would lease the train station property from Dichello.

Workers cannot understand how the company owner that they have "broken their backs for" will spend millions on luxury items such as a yacht and now this train station, but will not sit down and negotiate a reasonable contract with them so they can continue to live their own modest lives and take care of their families.

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