Union ratifies new contract with Cargill, ending Cedar Rapids strike

CEDAR RAPIDS — Union workers voted Thursday to ratify a new contract with Cargill, ending a strike that lasted roughly a month.

Workers were headed back to the Cedar Rapids corn milling facility to restart production Thursday evening.

“We are pleased to have our employees back to work to help us continue to safely service our customers,” plant manager Dan Pulis said in a statement Cargill provided to The Gazette.

Nearly 100 workers at Cargill’s corn milling plant near the Cedar River on 16th Street SE have been on strike since Oct. 1 over what they said was a refusal by the company to provide fair pay increases. The collective bargaining agreement between the 93 Cedar Rapids employees and the Minnesota-based crop trader and food maker expired early that day.

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Teamsters Local 238, the union representing the striking workers, announced an end to the strike Thursday afternoon, following a successful negotiation it said resulted in a new agreement “meeting the needs of both the workers and the company.”

Neither the union nor Cargill would disclose or comment on the details of the agreement. The union also would not say how many workers voted to ratify the contract.

The Teamsters, in a new release, said the new agreement “reflects necessary compromise but ultimately brings positive terms that will strengthen both Cargill’s workforce and its relationship with the community.”

Jesse Case, principal officer of Teamsters Local 238, called the mutual resolution a “win-win.”

“We look forward to restoring and continuing to build a cooperative relationship with Cargill as we all move forward together,” Case said in a statement provided by the Teamsters.

The union represents both private and public sectors workers across the state in food processing, warehouse, package delivery, public works and other industries.

Cargill said last week it would end employer-funded health care benefits for striking workers as of Friday. If they remained on strike after that, striking workers would be eligible for benefits through a federal act called COBRA, where they would have to pay the full premium of the health care plan.

A federal mediator was brought in with the hopes of bring striking workers and company representatives back to the negotiating table.

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Scott Punteney, business agent for Teamsters Local 238, said workers have been falling behind in wage adjustments over the past few contracts, as Cargill has had four profitable years without significant wage increases.

Punteney said workers sought fair treatment and acknowledgment of their hard work and dedication. The union also cited changes to an attendance policy and disregard for the workers who have kept the company’s operations going for years.

Cargill, one of the largest privately owned companies in the world, reported $160 billion in revenues in its 2024 annual report released in August, a $17 billion drop from the previous year.

It was the first time the company's revenue had declined since 2019, and the largest drop in a decade. Cargill Chief Executive Officer Brian Sikes wrote in a letter that “the marketplace our people navigated this year was extremely challenging.”

The U.S. agricultural market is facing a downturn, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasting a decrease in net farm income for 2024.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com