Teamsters go on strike at Iowa Cargill plant

CEDAR RAPIDS — Roughly 100 workers at Cargill’s corn milling plant in Cedar Rapids went on strike Tuesday after being unable to reach an agreement on a new contract.

The three-year contract between Cargill — a corn milling and soybean processor — and unionized workers with Teamsters Local 238 expired at midnight Tuesday.

Union members met Tuesday afternoon and voted “overwhelmingly” to strike after rejecting Cargill's final offer, which fell short of their demand for a roughly $3 hourly increase over a three-year contract, said Scott Punteney, business agent for Teamsters Local 238.

The union argues that the plant's wages are significantly behind industry standards, with workers earning less per hour than other local plants.

Cargill, one of the largest privately owned companies in the world by revenue, last month reported annual revenue fell to $160 billion, a nearly 10 percent drop from the previous year. This was the first time the company's revenue had declined since 2019, and the largest drop in a decade. The decline was due to low commodity prices and a global glut of agricultural production, according to the company.

Cargill Chief Executive Officer Brian Sikes wrote in a letter to stakeholders that “the marketplace our people navigated this year was extremely challenging.”

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“As we look to the future, our teams are sharply focused on achieving greater efficiency and profitability across our businesses while driving growth and greater value for our customers and communities around the world,” Sikes wrote.

Despite Cargill's reported 10 percent drop in annual revenues, Teamsters members said they believe the company's profits still warrant a fair wage increase. The union has support from local Democratic legislators and a strike fund to help workers during the strike.

Cargill has not publicly stated its operational plans during the strike.

The company, in a statement, said it “proposed a fair and competitive package for our employees and are disappointed that we could not come to an agreement with the Union at this time.”

Cargill said it is “willing and ready to meet with the union at their request,” and that company officials “remain optimistic that an agreement can be reached in the near future.”

“In the interim, we continue the supply of high-quality products to our customers,” the company’s statement reads.

The Minnesota-based crop trader and food maker employs more than 160,000 people in 70 countries, and has facilities in Cedar Rapids and elsewhere in Iowa.

After two and a half weeks of negotiations, Punteney said the union received Cargill’s “last, best, final offer.” He said the union was seeking a roughly $3 hourly increase over a three-year contract, but Cargill's offer was significantly lower. He said he was unable to provide specific figures at that moment on Tuesday.

Punteney said Cargill's plant is behind other local plants in wages, including other Cargill facilities, ADM and Quaker Oats, with workers feeling the impact of inflation.

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Despite a good relationship with Cargill over the years, Punteney said the company was unwilling to make a fair market adjustment for this group of workers, as it has done with other contracts negotiated by the Teamsters at other facilities.

“You know, these guys worked their butts off through the pandemic” and their wages have fallen behind with inflation, he said. “So it's their time to get a little piece of that pie back. And that's what they want, is just a little piece of the pie back. They don't want everything, but we want a fair offer. … For whatever reason, Cargill was unwilling to do that for this group. And it's surprising to me."

Jesse Case, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 238 in Iowa, criticized Cargill for pushing workers around with small wage increases and emphasized the union's determination to fight for fair wages and workers' rights, emphasizing that they will stay on strike as long as necessary.

“Cargill is the largest privately held company in the world and they’re pushing around nickels like it’s going to hurt the family billionaires,” Case sadi. “It’s the workers that put those billions in the pockets of the Cargill cartel, and we’ll stay on the picket line until our members receive a fair wage.”

Punteney said the union is ready to return to the negotiating table any time Cargill is willing to discuss a fair agreement.

“We want resolution. We don't want conflict. We want resolution,” Punteney said. “But when you push us into a corner, we're not going to just take it. We've got to stand up for ourselves."

Asked about the impact of previous strikes in the state, such as those at John Deere and Ingredion in Cedar Rapids, on the union’s current actions, Punteney said workers are generally more emboldened, not just because of recent strikes, but due to the broader movement of workers demanding better treatment.

About 45,000 dockworkers went on strike Tuesday for the first time in decades at 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas over wages and the use of automation.

Organized labor enjoys rising public support and has had a string of recent victories in other industries, in addition to the backing of the pro-union administration of President Joe Biden.

Punteney stressed the union will not back down until a fair agreement is reached, and is determined to fight for fair wages and benefits.

“Cargill is offering Local 238 members wages that are so low it’s creating recruitment and retention issues,” he said in a follow up news release sent Wednesday. “Cargill can end this strike immediately by stepping up, respecting its workers, and giving them the dignity and fair compensation they’ve earned.”

While the union has a strike fund, strike pay is not a full paycheck, he added.

Joe Kirchhoff, chief steward for the Cedar Rapids facility, said workers are asking for a raise that keeps up with the rising cost of living and the rest of the industry.

Among those workers who manned the picket line Tuesday night in front of the Cargill plant gate was 36-year-old Tyler Hilleshiem of Cedar Rapids.

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A refinery operator who has worked with Cargill for 10-plus years, Hilleshiem said members are striking for better pay and respect, feeling undervalued compared to other local businesses and companies like General Mills.

He cited high turnover rates and long hours as issues, and reiterated the union is not asking for the best pay and benefits, but rather for comparable compensation to other local businesses.

He also argued that despite tight market conditions the company remains profitable, and that some of the company's profits should be shared with the workers who contribute to the company's success.

Hilleshiem said the strike pay he’ll receive from the union is “just enough to get by the skin of your teeth.”

“But the only thing that hurts big companies is when their pocketbook starts to hurt,” he said. “And, you know, they're the largest privately owned company in the world. They don't make the profits that they make without us.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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