Workers rejected the company’s "last, best, and final" offer with comments like, "The negotiators shouldn’t have even brought this back for a vote." Strikers told the press that under the proposed contract they would receive a 12 percent pay increase but incur a 15 percent hike in medical insurance costs. After voting down the company’s offer, the unionists, members of Teamsters Local 89, set up picket lines April 29.

The next day, negotiations, which had been going on for six weeks, broke off after union officials said they had "mistakenly" given the company a 59-day instead of a 60-day notice that they wanted to change the contract. This meant the company could unilaterally extend the three-year pact for another year, and it did.

James Adams, Jeffboat assistant vice president of public affairs, announced, "The union has not authorized a strike. Employees are expected to report to their regularly scheduled shifts." The workers didn’t, and instead they reported to the picket lines. Only 10 of the 750 union members crossed the line.

After a week on strike, workers agreed to return to work. First, however, they took a new vote May 6 on the company’s contract offer, rejecting it once again. The workers received guarantees from the company that no one would be fired or disciplined for the strike, nor would anyone be penalized under the absentee program for the walkout.  
 
 
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