Workers vote to strike at Ingredion in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Union members at Ingredion in Cedar Rapids rejected a labor contract and went on strike Monday morning.

Picket lines started Monday morning outside the Ingredion plant on First Street SW. The BCTGM Local 100G rejected the latest contract offer Monday morning. Union representatives say they are negotiating pay and benefits, particularly for health coverage.

BCTGM represents North America’s bakery, confectionery, tobacco, and grain milling industries - including everything from production workers to sanitation. It has 123 members at Ingredion. The union picketed the company during a 2015 labor dispute as the company was changing hands from Penford to Ingredion, but workers did not strike.

Ingredion released the following statement in reaction to the vote - “The contract with the union in our Cedar Rapids facility expired on August 1, 2022. To date, we have not reached an agreement and the union has placed us on notice of their intention to engage in a work stoppage effective today. Our goal has always been to provide our team members with very competitive wages and a comprehensive benefits package. While our team assumes operations of the Cedar Rapids facility, there may be temporary facility stoppages. We have enacted our business continuity plan and we will continue to operate the facility and fulfill our customers’ orders.”

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