Staff members have voted to strike the largest distributor of Coca-Cola in the Philly area

Union warehouse workers, drivers and sales staff at the region’s largest Coca-Cola bottler and distributor voted to strike Sunday, according to Teamsters Local 830 leadership.

“Liberty Coca-Cola has dealt with my members and all members [bargaining] Local 830 Treasury Secretary Daniel Grace said in a statement. He said the company does not offer workers satisfactory compensation or benefits, calling the latest contract offer an “insult”.

The union workforce of about 400 people was setting up a picket line at 725 E. Erie Ave. , the Philadelphia plant where Liberty bottles Coca-Cola, Dasani water, Powerade, Monster Energy, Gold Peak iced tea, and other brands.

Liberty Coca-Cola issued a statement saying it had negotiated in good faith with workers, offering “the highest pay increases in Coca-Cola/Teamster Local 830 history, along with a health and wellbeing benefits package. The great offers add to the millions of dollars we’ve invested.” at our facility over the past few years, including new trucks for our drivers, new warehouse technology, and a fitness center.”

The company said national union leaders and the 3,500-member local chief supported this final offer, but workers voted against accepting it.

Five years ago, the union came close to striking amid tense contract negotiations in the wake of the city’s soda tax, which led to a 38.9% drop in purchases of sweetened beverages, Found a study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Then the Liberty employees focused on fighting to keep their retirement benefits.

The factory’s workforce has shrunk by about a third since then.

“The soda tax really affected us. We’re so far from where we used to be,” Grace said.

Grace declined to publish specific details about the wages workers are looking for now, but said wages have not kept pace with “runaway inflation”. He said the striking workers are also seeking health insurance and various retirement benefits.

He said, “We’ll stay in it, until we get what we’re looking for.”

Liberty Coca-Cola pledged to work with the union toward a just and equitable solution. Meanwhile, its statement referred to “a robust contingency plan that will allow continued delivery of our products to our customers and consumers throughout the Philadelphia area.”