News
Pilgrim’s employees stay busy during shutdown by serving their community
Posted on April 17, 2018
Originally published in the Franklin Free Press.
When management at Pilgrim’s poultry plant in Russellville planned for a one-week shutdown to install new equipment, they wanted to give their employees an option to earn a paycheck for the week.
Pilgrim’s officials teamed with the City of Russellville and Franklin County to arrange for employees to volunteer to work for the city or county last week. The employees who signed up would earn their regular paycheck by doing community service for the city and county.
More than 130 Pilgrim’s employees signed up and spent last week working with City of Russellville and Franklin County employees in a range of jobs from pressure washing to painting to litter pickup to sidewalk washing.
“The mayor [David Grissom] told me it more than doubled the city work force,” said Mollie Shirley, Pilgrim’s Human Resources manager. “These employees volunteered their time to the city and county. They came in every day to the plant, got organized as to who would go where, and they remained on our payroll this week.
“This benefits the city and county. From all the information we’ve received, Mayor Grissom and [Franklin County commissioner] Chris Wallace were very appreciative of the employees for the great job they did.”
Grissom expressed his appreciation to Pilgrim’s officials and the employees who volunteered to work for the city.
“They got a lot accomplished this week and worked very well with our employees. This was a great community service by Pilgrim’s and their employees,” Grissom said.
Pilgrim’s workers provided 2,200 man hours of labor to Franklin County during the week. The Franklin County Commission expressed its appreciation to the management and employees of Pilgrim’s at its Monday meeting.
Pilgrim’s employees helped patch potholes on approximately 60 miles of Franklin County roads and worked with the Franklin County Litter Control officer to pick up more than 8,680 pounds of garbage throughout the county.
Employees who did not participate in the city/county program were also able to do work around the plant, including painting and striping of the parking lot. Others chose to take vacation time.
The plant was closed in order to install new equipment as part of a $3 million capital investment, Shirley said. A new wing segmenter and two new cage dump operations were installed. Pilgrim’s Complex manager Kevin Touchstone said the new equipment will provide more automation without eliminating any jobs.
“We are moving 16 people from day shift to work elsewhere. Nobody is losing their job as a result of these efficiency measures,” Touchstone said.
Shirley said the plant also is undergoing a $250,000 rebranding/refurbishing, including a complete update of the employee break room and new signage throughout the plant. Lockers were removed and repainted. New vending machines were installed, and the break rooms were redone, she said.
Pilgrim’s employees returned to their regular work schedules Sunday night. The plant employs more than 1,200 people and has a major impact on the local economy as Franklin County’s largest employer
Shirley said Pilgrim’s employees worked more than 800 hours helping Russellville and Franklin County last week.
While employee turnover remains a problem at Pilgrim’s, Shirley said the numbers show it’s improving. Pilgrim’s has reduced its turnover from 143 percent to 109 percent the last year.
“Labor is your most valuable resource. For a complex this size, this represents a big improvement,” Shirley said.