Workers at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (LCAAP) in Independence, MO, returned to work on May 7 after more than four weeks on strike having secured a new contract with the plant’s contractor, Olin Winchester.
The 1,350 workers at the facility are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 778 (IAM). Workers on the picket line told The Worker that a combination of low wages, mandatory overtime, low morale, and an increased cost of living led them to the decision to strike.
Among those demands won in the new 4 year contract are wage increases front-loaded at the beginning of the contract period and relief from ballooning overtime scheduling. Prior to the agreement, workers said they were required to work mandatory 60-hour shifts with entry-level wages of just over $20, with individual shifts lasting up to 16 hours.
LCAAP is the single largest producer of small arms ammunition for the US military. The strike disrupted ammunition production as US imperialism is attempting to rearm following its defeat at the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Analysts in the monopoly media have raised alarms that US strategic military reserves have been drained and that the US faces military supply challenges following its defeat in its war of aggression.
In press releases during the strike, IAM leadership appealed positively to the strategic value of the plant within US imperialism without noting the deterioration of working conditions for arms manufacture workers resulting from increased militarization.
The strike at LCAAP forms part of a continued uptick in labor actions, strikes, and worker mobilizations that have been occurring in the US since 2018, including in arms manufacturers supplying US imperialism.
Image: Rally in front of the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, MO Credit: The Worker.
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