Every day, workers at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence do something most Americans never think about: They manufacture the small arms ammunition that equips our military and the armed forces of our allies. The plant, operated by Olin Winchester, is the single largest producer of small-arms ammunition for the U.S. armed forces, supplying the majority of rounds used by the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, as well as critical ammunition to NATO allies and partner nations whose regional stability depends in part on U.S. exports.
And every day, many of those workers wonder whether they’ll make it home in time to have dinner with their kids, kiss them before bedtime or watch them playing baseball or soccer.
For the approximately 1,350 workers represented by Local 778 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers or IAM Union at Olin Winchester, mandatory overtime isn’t the exception, it’s a way of life. It’s forced on them repeatedly, with little regard for the toll it takes on their health, their families and their lives outside the factory. When their current contract expired at midnight on Saturday, April 4, IAM members at this facility voted to go on strike. The company left them no choice.
We want Kansas City to understand why.
The men and women of IAM Local 778 are not unreasonable people. They’re not asking for the moon. They’re asking for wages that have actually kept pace with the cost of living in this region. The primary drivers of Kansas City’s cost of living are soaring housing costs and rising gas and food prices, and they’re hitting working families the hardest.
Right now, IAM Local 778 members at Lake City have zero sick leave. None. If you wake up sick, if your child has a fever and can’t go to school, if you need to see a doctor, you get hit with an attendance point that goes on your record.
This plant is not just a factory. It is the backbone of America’s small-caliber ammunition supply, securing readiness today and building resilience for the future. We are the home of the brave because we have always given our troops the tools and the resources to defend our freedom. That promise does not begin on a battlefield overseas. It begins on a factory floor in Independence.
And those workers are an economic engine for this entire region. Nearly 50 local businesses depend on the work performed at this plant. This strike is not just a labor dispute, it is a community issue, and we all have a stake in how it is resolved.
When Olin Winchester’s federal funding was threatened in 2022, the IAM Union went directly to House and Senate appropriators and fought to restore full Army ammunition procurement funding, protecting 1,700 jobs and winning. That victory, along with more than $134 million in public subsidies, tax credits and financing Olin Winchester has received over the years, was made possible by our members now standing on that picket line. This company owes those workers the same generosity it has been given.
This strike did not happen because workers were eager to walk off the job. It happened because Olin Winchester failed to bring an offer to the table that treated these workers with the respect they’ve earned.
These are your neighbors on the picket line. They make the ammunition our soldiers carry into battle. Their work powers $108 million in economic activity in this region every year. All these workers are asking for is fair pay, basic leave and the ability to go home when their shift ends at a moment when military readiness has never been more important.
The IAM Union stands fully behind our Local 778 members, and we hope the entire community will stand in solidarity with them until they have the contract they deserve.