The strike, led by ILWU Warehouse Local 6, centers on negotiations for a new three-year contract. Healthcare, retiree benefits, sick leave, overtime rules and union protections are reportedly among the biggest issues separating the two sides.
Around 90 to 100 union warehouse workers have been on strike since mid-June at the massive Bay Area sugar refinery.
The Crockett facility has a long history in California’s sugar industry and was even involved in the well-known “Sugar Wars” labor disputes of the 1930s. Today, the plant receives rail service from Union Pacific and reportedly generates roughly 25,000 truckloads of sugar each year.
American Sugar Refining, the parent company of C&H Sugar, says it offered workers a 20% wage increase as part of contract negotiations. The union, however, says the company’s proposed concessions involving benefits and workplace protections are unacceptable.
Local reports indicate the company proposed reducing annual sick leave from 10 days to five, eliminating retiree medical benefits and changing overtime rules so workers would only receive premium overtime pay after working more than 40 hours in a week.
Union representatives have said wages are negotiable, but longstanding benefits and workplace protections are not.
The walkout is believed to be the first strike involving C&H warehouse workers over their own contract in decades.
The last similar shutdown at the Crockett facility came in 2003, when warehouse workers reportedly walked out in solidarity with other sugar employees rather than over their own labor agreement.
Some striking workers have also accused the company of using replacement workers during the dispute and attempting to convince employees to cross the picket line.