PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- About 450 employees of the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. hit the picket lines on Monday after rejecting the company's last contract offer by a 3-to-1 margin.þþTeamsters Local 830 rejected the company's offer late Sunday, saying the company had offered inadequate increases in wages and medical and pension benefits. Union members also criticized the treatment of employees by management at the 102-year-old bottling company.þþCompany spokeswoman Tracee Hunt said that Coke was surprised by the walkout because the company offered what it believed was a generous package of salary, benefit and pension increases.þþThe Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. is the country's third-largest black-owned business and fourth-largest distributor of Coca-Cola products, with annual sales of $400 million, according to the company's Web site.þþ
Source: NY Times
