NEWARK, Calif. — “No contract, no salt!” chanted members of Teamsters Local 853 picketing at Cargill Salt in the Bay Area where they’ve been on strike since Aug. 11.
Two months of negotiations have failed to produce an agreement between the union and Cargill, with wages and healthcare costs the key sticking point.
“Every plan they have absorbs our raises,” Teamster Business Agent James Long told workers bringing solidarity to their picket line. Right now, they have to pay $1,200 a month for family coverage. “It’s about $7 an hour out of their wages. You take $7 out, it’s hard to survive in the Bay Area,” he said.
The union has also filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the company for retaliation against a shop steward.
Cargill is one of the biggest manufacturers of sea salt in North America. The company manufactures 500,000 tons of salt a year for use in food, water softeners, swimming pools and for deicing roads and pavements. The 120 men and women at the plant here harvest the salt from huge evaporation ponds, then turn it into finished products.