Le Mars, IA — On Friday, August 15, about 200 members of Teamsters Local No. 554 at the Kemps plant in Le Mars met to take a strike authorization vote. The vote, which closed at 9:00 pm, resulted in the Teamsters passing the strike authorization.
According to union recording secretary Adrian Marcias, the vote merely gives the negotiating committee the “full authority to call a strike if needed,” but “doesn’t mean we have a date we are going on strike.”
The Teamsters were negotiating with the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), which owns Kemps, but the talks broke down on Thursday, August 14. Kemps workers joined the Teamsters union in December of 2024.
“The Teamsters are the only union that can get these hardworking men and women the best contract possible at DFA, and we’re honored that they chose to join our movement,” said Danny Avelyn, Teamsters Central Region International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Local 554 when the Kemps workers joined. “We look forward to fighting alongside them.”
