"I haven't sat out here for seven weeks for nothing. This was a nothing contract offer." That was how striker Jim Erb, a member of the negotiating committee with 31 years at the company, summarized the attitudes of many striking workers.

The members of Teamsters Local 792 voted down the bosses' proposal 319 to 18, a similar margin to the 356-14 vote that launched the strike. According to Erb, workers in the union meeting "tore apart" the contract offer in a 45-minute discussion. Another member of the negotiating committee, Jerry Ernst, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "It was a pretty emotional meeting. I would guess the ball is in [the company's] court."

At issue in the conflict are wages, pensions, and jobs. Workers at Pepsi are demanding a 4 percent annual raise for three years, the same raise won by unionists at the nearby Coca-Cola bottling plant at the beginning of June. The company is offering a 2.7 percent annual raise for four years.

The strikers are also demanding an early retirement plan of "30 and out." This would enable workers to retire after 30 years of employment with the company and to receive a pension. Workers on the picket line say that the work is backbreaking and that they shouldn't have to wait until age 65 to receive a pension. The demand of "30 and out" has been won by some union auto workers and some workers in other industries in which the work is especially physically demanding.

The workers at Pepsi are also fighting a company proposal that would eliminate 50 jobs over three years by cutting the direct delivery of fountain products to restaurants in the area.

The mood of the strikers is combative, especially in the afternoons when the scab trucks return from their runs. About 20 strikers staff picket lines at three different entrances to the plant.

The company claims it is maintaining production at 95 percent of pre-strike levels by bringing in supervisors and workers from other bottling plants. However, union spokespeople point out that some convenience stores have been running out of Pepsi products in the summer months and that the company is making extreme efforts to maintain production.

"The company forced its supervisors to work on the 4th of July. This is the first time ever that anyone worked on the 4th of July," Erb said in an interview.

The union also dispatches cars with strikers to follow the scab trucks and set up picket lines at stores, restaurants, and warehouses where the products are delivered. On July 22 the union organized a march and rally of 500 in front of the plant. Union officials have also called for a boycott of Pepsi products. Union members go to fairs and festivals in the Twin Cities area and pass out leaflets asking for other to observe their call for a boycott.  
 
 
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