ADM workers strike at Decatur, Illinois, facility

Teamsters Local 916 members at ADM's Decatur, Illinois, facility. The workers oversee the co-generation plant that provides energy for the facility.

According to reports, union employees walked off the job late February 2 as contract negotiations stalled.

Between 30 and 40 employees are on strike the union said in a statement.

“ADM is refusing to offer these workers wages and benefits on par with what union members receive at other union facilities, which is a slap in the face,” said J.P. Fyans, Local 916 president.

Local 916 is asking for a 12% raise over the next three years to keep up with inflation.

“This company is one of the oldest and largest food conglomerates in the world,” said Peter Finn, Teamsters Western Region vice president and Food Processing Division director. “It made more than $100 billion in the revenue last year, a 20% increase from the year prior. This isn’t about money to ADM, it’s about power. Well guess what – the Teamsters have power too, and we plan on using it to get a good contract for these workers."

ADM said the company is negotiating in good faith.

“We have offered an extremely competitive proposal to union membership at our co-generation facility in Decatur and continue to negotiate in good faith with the union, which represents fewer than 50 of our nearly 5,000 colleagues in Decatur,” ADM said in a statement. “We have a robust plan in place to maintain production levels until we can reach a satisfactory resolution.”

There are nearly 5,000 employees at the Decatur facility that processes corn and soybeans into food, animal feed and biofuels, according to ADM. The company said it will be able to maintain production until an agreement with the union is reached.

— Lisa Cleaver