Striking Coca-Cola Teamsters in Indiana extend picket lines to Ohio
Anderson, IN – Teamsters at Coca-Cola Consolidated's distribution center in central Indiana have been on an unfair labor practice strike since September 2, and their fight has spread well beyond Madison County.
On September 22, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced that the strikers had extended their picket lines to Coke Consolidated facilities across Ohio, where more than 300 Teamsters refused to cross the line. Strikers from Anderson, Indiana have effectively shut off the company's Ohio operations at locations in Akron, Toledo and Twinsburg. A week later, members of Teamsters Local 377 in Youngstown began honoring the picket line as well.
The strikers are drivers and merchandisers for Coca-Cola Consolidated, represented by Teamsters Local 135. This is the first strike at the company's Anderson facility.
“These workers have made it clear that they won’t settle for an agreement that does not respect what they are worth,” said Dustin Roach, president of Local 135, in a press release. “With the support of hundreds of their Teamsters brothers and sisters, our members are prepared to continue their work stoppage until they get a fair deal. Management needs to stop their games and get people back to work.”
The workers' previous four-year contract expired on August 29. Members voted down the company's offers, saying they did too little to bring wages and health benefits up to industry standards. Bargaining for a new agreement collapsed after Coke Consolidated management committed many unfair labor practices, including sending company representatives to the table with no authority to bargain, failing to bargain in good faith, and making unilateral changes.
Teamsters Local 135 says that some workers at Coke Consolidated's Anderson facility earn less than the living wage for Madison County, which MIT's Living Wage Calculator puts at $28 per hour for a household of two working adults and two children. Coca-Cola Consolidated can afford a fair deal. The company is the largest Coke bottler in the United States, reporting $2.05 billion in net sales and $158.8 million in net income for the second quarter of 2026 alone.
Picket line extensions happen when striking workers set up picket lines at other locations of the same employer they are striking. Because the pickets target the struck company itself, they are lawful primary picketing.
The power of the tactic comes from union contracts. Many Teamster agreements contain “Protection of Rights” language that guarantees members the right to refuse to cross a picket line. When Local 135 strikers showed up in Akron, Toledo and Twinsburg, the Teamsters there, working under their own separate contracts, used their legal and contractual right to refuse to cross and stayed off the job.
The result: a strike of 48 workers in one Indiana town became a work stoppage of more than 300 Teamsters across two states.
In an IBT press release, Jeff Padellaro, director of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference, said, “As long as management refuses to offer a fair contract, we will remain on the picket line. Teamsters around the country have Local 135’s back, and these extended picket lines prove our solidarity is as strong as ever.”
In Youngstown, Local 377 President Steven Anzevino told WKBN news that his members would stand with Local 135. “It's not our strike,” he said, “but we are honoring their picket line.”
Picket line extensions are not new, and Teamsters have used them for decades. However, since Sean O'Brien's election as Teamsters general president in 2021, the tactic has become a central part of the union's strike strategy. In the past five years, Teamsters have won strikes against US Foods, Breakthru Beverage, DHL, and other companies after making use of the tactic.