Hundreds of workers at a Philly Coca-Cola distributor are on strike. Here’s why.

One day into a strike at Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages in Philadelphia, a union representative says trucks are standing still, and they’re not sure yet when negotiations will restart.

The Teamsters at Liberty Coca-Cola’s production center in the Juniata Park neighborhood got their last contract five years ago, not long after the company’s ownership changed. It expired on Saturday for the 414 workers.

The bargaining committee finished negotiations at 3:30 a.m. Saturday, and a vote was held Sunday morning, according to Local 830 Secretary-Treasurer Daniel H. Grace, but he wasn’t certain it would pass with members.

“I had my hesitations” ahead of the vote, Grace said in an interview Monday, “because it was not where the bargaining committee wanted to be.”

Members ended up voting against the company’s last, best offer by a 5-1 ratio, Grace said.

Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages said in a statement Sunday that management negotiated in good faith with the union over the last few months of bargaining. According to the company, the contract offered would have included the largest-ever wage increase for the Coca-Cola Teamster Local 830 workers.

Grace declined to discuss exactly what wage increases the union was seeking, but said members did not accept what management offered.

A spokesperson for Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, reached Monday, did not provide further information on where gaps remain between what workers want to be paid and what the company has offered.

“We all know that we’re living amongst rampant inflation right now. What the company put on the table, the members don’t feel that it’s enough to keep up with inflation,” Grace said.

In addition to increased wages, union members also wanted the opportunity to join the Local 830 health and welfare plan instead of staying with a more expensive Aetna plan offered by the company, Grace said, as well as bigger employer contributions to their 401(k) retirement plans.

Retirement was the major factor last time the union negotiated a contract with Liberty Coca-Cola in 2018. About 600 Local 830 members nearly went on strike as they faced the loss of their pension plan. Management said the company needed to cut costs because of pressures created by the city’s soda tax, which spurred a 38.9% reduction in the purchase of sweetened beverages, according to a study by researchers at University of Pennsylvania’s medical school.

Grace said Monday that he had requested to get back to negotiations, but he hasn’t heard back on when that will happen.

“We remain committed to finding a solution that fairly balances the needs of the business, our customers, and associates, and will continue to negotiate in good faith with union leadership,” the company said in its statement.

Asked about the consumer effects of the strike so far, Grace said the impact on business is unclear, and that in a strike “nobody wins.”

“All I can say is that as of today, no trucks have left the premises,” he said.