REDFORD, Mich. – For the 10th day in a row, 7UP workers picket outside the distribution center in Redford.
Workers said they are on strike to fight a two-tier wage system and for a fair disciplinary process. They allege management laughed outloud at the request to have Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday, hired violent and racially insensitive people to disrupt the strike and are “refusing to negotiate.”
Reps. Debbie Dingell, Rashida Tlaib and Andy Levin joined workers Saturday to show their support.
“I met a worker who has been here for 33 years,” Tlaib said. “He worked for this company and he’s out here saying he’s never seen anything like this. They’re mistreating workers in the workplace.”
“It’s been very trying on all of us but this group has been so strong and stayed together, and they believe in protecting their jobs,” said Tony Reisdorf, with Teamsters Local Union No. 337. “They’re not going to let their jobs get diminished. We’re not going to work for a second-tier wage.”
Parent company Keurig Dr Pepper released the following statement regarding the strike: