Coca-Cola Workers Strike in Anderson Over Unfair Labor Practices

Coca-Cola Consolidated workers in Anderson, Indiana, have gone on strike for the first time in their 40-year history. The 48 union members represented by Teamsters Local 135 are demanding a better contract and an end to what they claim are unfair labor practices. According to the union, the company engaged in bargaining in bad faith after bringing management officials who were not authorized to negotiate.

The current four-year contract expired on August 29, and the workers have twice rejected proposals that did not meet their demands for improved wages and healthcare benefits. They claim they are making less than the living wage of $28 per hour for a household with two adults and two children in Madison County, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator.

The company maintains it has been bargaining in good faith throughout the negotiations and believes its contract offers are fair and competitive. However, union officials say workers are happy to return to the bargaining table but the company is refusing to restart negotiations. As a result, picket lines have been set up outside two Coke facilities in Ohio, where labor contracts allow workers not to cross the line.

The strike has received support from other workers at the Ohio facilities who are choosing not to come to work in solidarity with their colleagues in Anderson. The Teamsters are providing $1,000 a week stipend to striking workers and helping them pay health costs and insurance.