IAM members vote to strike Belshaw Adamatic in Auburn

The following is from the International Association of Machinists Local 79:

IAM members at Belshaw Adamatic in Auburn walk the picket lines on Monday, March 25.

AUBURN, Wash. — On Sunday, March 24, 62 members of IAM Local 79 voted unanimously to strike their employer, Belshaw Adamatic Bakery Group.

The union members graciously offered a Regence medical plan that has a cost-saving difference of $20,000-plus a month (yes, that is each month). The employees are asking that part of that savings be returned to them in wages instead of the one-time $1,500 bonus that is being offered.

This IAM is proud of their members at Belshaw. Many of the 62 employees have been with the company for more than 30 years. During those decades, the company chose to reduce the work force by not replacing laid-off or retired employees, leaving the remainder left to “do more with less.” To meet that challenge, Belshaw employees go above and beyond what is asked of them in order to meet the demands of producing quality bakery equipment that is sold globally.