Frito-Lay workers go on strike for better pay, working conditions

Around 600 employees or about 80 percent of the full-time workforce at the Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas went on strike for better pay and working conditions, including less mandatory overtime.

The plant is among over 30 manufacturing sites the company operates in the US.

Mark McCarter, a plant worker, revealed that employees often work 12 hours per day, seven days a week, with as little as eight hours of break time in between shifts.

A class of workers had been given a wage hike of just 20 cents per hour over the past decade.

Box drop technician Monk Drapeaux-Stewart complained that his wages increased just 77 cents over the past 12 years.

But Frito-Lay is standing its ground, insisting it had agreed to the union's proposed economic terms with each member of the union's negotiating committee, including the union president, committing to support the agreement before members voted against it on July 3.

Frito-Lay insists that the union membership's rejection of the agreement is out of touch with employees' sentiments.

The company added that it will continue operating the Topeka plant and has a contingency plan to ensure employee safety.

There were calls to boycott Frito-Lay products and those from their parent company, PepsiCo until the strike is resolved.