AMARILLO, Texas—Teamsters at Tyson Foods’ largest beef plant, in Amarillo, Texas, voted 98%-2% to authorize a strike.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the 3,100 workers are going to walk, Teamsters Local 577 says, but it serves notice on the company that workers are serious about a new contract that produces higher wages and benefits and better working conditions in the sprawling beef processing plant.
The Amarillo plant is one of the largest beef plants in the U.S., and Tyson is one of the handful of agribusiness giants dominating the U.S. food supply chain, so a strike could have a big impact not just on workers but on grocery shelves.
The strike authorization also may produce some movement at the bargaining table, with a negotiating session scheduled soon after the vote in late June.
The union says that not only has Tyson been stalling in the talks, but that it’s been committing unfair labor practices—labor law-breaking—by harassing union stewards, coercing injured workers into dropping claims, illegally questioning workers about their union preference, and lying by saying a strike could cost their jobs.
Speaking from Teamsters headquarters in D.C., union spokesman Matt McQuaid said the workers at the plant want “higher wages, more accessible and comprehensive health care, and improved retirement benefits.
“These are basic needs. We’re not asking for anything extravagant. We’re asking for wages that cover groceries, rent, and bills.”
Local 577 President Al Brito told the Amarillo Globe-News that corporate greed guides Tyson’s bosses’ bargaining stances.
“We are bargaining with one of the most repulsively greedy and amoral corporations in the entire country,” Brito said. “Last year, Tyson’s CEO made 525 times that of the median worker. If corporate leadership doesn’t start demonstrating some basic humanity, we will be forced to take action.”
McQuaid said no one event pushed the strike authorization vote. “It was more a culmination of frustrations. Our members want real changes—and we’re not alone. Across the country, especially in the South, more and more workers are organizing, demanding better contracts, and holding employers accountable.”
“Tyson has a saying that we’ve got your back, but as far as I can see right now, we have to have our own backs. If they really had our backs, we wouldn’t have to go this far, but now we’re tired of talking, and we’re tired of hearing this and hearing that. We want solutions and we want them now,” Local 577 member Angela Moore told KDFA Channel 10.
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