With picket signs in hand, striking workers at Silgan Containers gathered along Eighth Avenue near the entrance to the Rochelle facility on 15th Street early Monday.
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ROCHELLE — With picket signs in hand, striking workers at Silgan Containers gathered along Eighth Avenue near the entrance to the Rochelle facility on 15th Street early Monday.
The issue is over wages, benefits and working conditions.
More than 170 workers of Local 2068 of the International Assoc. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) voted to go on strike shortly after midnight this past Saturday after rejecting the contract offered by the company.
“There’s no louder nor clearer message to a company than when a group of workers come together and decide it’s time to strike. And that’s exactly what is happening with the Machinists members at Silgan Containers,” said lead IAMAW negotiator Bill Broughton in a press release. “Silgan is squeezing its workers with one hand, while taking great care of its CEOs and shareholders with the other.”
Broughton stated that Silgan workers have not seen a positive contract for the last 10 years, and workers and their families, have taken many hits, particularly in wages with higher insurance premiums eating up any increases.
“Today they’ve decided enough is enough – it’s time to fight back,” he said. “IAMAW workers at Silgan are a testament to the Fighting Machinists’ union values of dignity, fairness, respect and protecting our families and communities. Their union brothers and sisters could not be more proud.”
Local union lodge president Rick Pease spoke on behalf of the striking workers Monday.
“We are concerned about benefits and wages,” Pease said.
A call placed to the Rochelle facility for comment was directed to executive vice president and chief financial officer Bob Lewis at Silgan Holdings in Stamford, Connecticut. He declined to comment.
Silgan Containers is a leading supplier of metal food packaging with sales in five locations and over two dozen manufacturing facilities across the U.S.
