Workers strike at can-making plant in Kingsburg

Tag : making plant


More than 50 employees of Silgan Containers, a company that makes and supplies metal cans for the Del Monte plant in Kingsburg, walked off the job Tuesday morning in a dispute over the workers' contract. Silgan officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but employee Thomas Call said he and other members of Teamsters Local 948 went out on strike over issues that include the company's offers on wages, medical insurance and pension benefits. The workers' contract expired July 1. The Silgan containers are used for peaches and tomatoes and are manufactured at the plant, which is next to the Del Monte factory.

Call, a mechanic, said the strikers include machine operators, forklift drivers and mechanics. Sam Martinez, principal officer with the union, said that while negotiations continue, the workers will remain on the picket line until both sides reach an agreement. "All the workers are asking for is the same benefits that exist for other workers in the industry," Martinez said. Martinez said the workers -- whose average salary is about $19 to $20 an hour -- are being asked to pay a larger share of their health-insurance benefits.

Based in Woodland Hills, Silgan is one of the largest metal can makers in the United Sates with about half of the U.S. volume in 2007 and net sales of $1.68 billion. Silgan Containers makes and sells steel and aluminum containers for processors and packagers of food products, including soup, vegetables, fruit, meat, tomato-based products, coffee, seafood, adult nutritional drinks and pet food.