SANDWICH – A strike at the canal plant in Sandwich was averted after a last minute agreement was struck last night between the plant’s owner and the workers.
With the help of a federal mediator, the two sides came to a new six-year agreement about an hour and a half before the deadline.
“We feel very good. The bargaining committee worked very hard to get an agreement, and the company also did a lot of hard work in the last few days to come to the middle and get to an agreement,” said Local 369 President Dan Hurley. “I gotta give credit where credit is due to the company. They listened to our concerns as we did theirs and we were able to hammer out an agreement,” Hurley added.
The plant’s 26 workers had unanimously voted to authorize a strike before last night’s agreement.
The major negotiating issues were safety concerns and health care costs, he said.