SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of South Charleston-based Teamsters Local 175 voted unanimously Sunday to authorize a strike against Coca-Cola Consolidated.
The local, which represents approximately 100 workers who deliver Coke products in the Charleston-Logan area, claims the company has failed to negotiate a fair contract.
The current contract expires at midnight Tuesday.
“The manner in which they treat their employees is disgusting” Teamsters Local 175 President Ken Hall said in a Sunday afternoon news release. “The company wants to eliminate work for its own employees which is the opposite of what their competitors are doing in the state of WV who want all of the work to be handled by their own employees.”
Hall told MetroNews Friday the company has negotiated a deal with Sheetz that has Coca-Cola products being delivered directly to Sheetz from an out-of-state warehouse. Sheetz employees would then deliver them to the company’s locations, instead of the Teamsters.
“I am surprised that Sheetz has entered into that agreement with Coke given the fact that the majority of their business consists of working people and in areas such as Morgantown the majority of their business is college students,” Hall said in Sunday’s announcement. “The one thing that is certain is that West Virginian’s do not support nor appreciate out of state companies who come to WV to destroy jobs.”
Hall said if Local 175 does go on strike this week he’s confident they would have the support of other Teamsters locals in West Virginia.
“Coke should be aware of this, given that in 2000 when Coke forced a strike at their then Huntington, WV facility, they lost substantial amounts of business in WV,” Hall said.
The two sides negotiated a possible new contract for nine days before Sunday’s vote. The union leadership encouraged its members to reject it.