IAM Union Demands Olin Winchester Bargain in Good Faith as Ammunition Plant Strike Enters Third Week

Source: IAM

KANSAS CITY, April 16, 2026 —IAM International President Brian Bryant and Midwest Territory General Vice President Sam Cicinelli joined striking members of IAM Local 778 on Thursday for a roundtable discussion at the IAM Local 778 Union Hall in Kansas City, Mo., demanding that Olin Winchester return to the bargaining table and reach a fair contract with the approximately 1,350 workers who have been on strike since Saturday, April 4.

The roundtable came one day after IAM Local 778 representatives met with Olin Winchester negotiators. IAM Local 778 members at Olin Winchester’s Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo., the single largest producer of small-arms ammunition for the U.S. armed forces, walked off the job after their contract expired at midnight on April 4 over wages, mandatory overtime, zero paid sick leave, and unsustainable working conditions.

“The full weight and resources of the IAM are deployed right here, right now, in Missouri,” said Bryant. “IAM Local 778 members did not walk off that job because they wanted to. They walked off because Olin Winchester gave them no choice, no fair wage, no paid sick leave, no relief from forced overtime, and no respect. As long as they are standing strong on that picket line, the IAM is standing with them.”

Olin Winchester has received more than $53 million in state and local subsidies since 2001, plus an additional $81 million in loans and guarantees. The IAM said that public investment makes swift resolution of the strike a matter of accountability to Missouri taxpayers and to the members of the U.S. military who depend on Lake City for ammunition supply. The Independence facility manufactures 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm and .50-caliber rifle ammunition for the U.S. military.



Read more: https://www.goiam.org/news/iam-union-demands-olin-winchester-bargain-in-good-faith-as-ammunition-plant-strike-enters-third-week/