Lead photo: Airgas employees represented by Teamsters Local 369 seen on strike Aug. 24 outside of the company’s Hyattsville, MD location. (Teamsters Local 369 photo)

The union representing freight and warehouse workers at an Airgas store are on strike in Hyattsville, MD, citing unfair labor practices and “the company’s refusal to negotiate a fair contract.”

A release from Teamsters Local 639 said that more than 40 employees represented by the union began their strike on Aug. 21 as they seek fair contracts following failed negotiations with the company. Airgas has a store location in Hyattsville, MD that is about 7 miles east of downtown Washington D.C.

Teamsters claims to represent more than 600 employees at Airgas, which has a total headcount of over 11,000.

“For months, we’ve tried to negotiate in good faith, but Airgas’s greedy executives have shown no interest in reaching a fair agreement,” Local 639 President William Davis said in the release. “The company has brought this labor dispute upon itself by refusing to negotiate and undercut the bargaining process. Our members will not be bullied into accepting a substandard contract. We’re prepared to stay out as long as it takes.”

Local 639 detailed that the strike includes drivers and plant workers responsible for delivering essential gases to hospitals, laboratories and universities.

“Airgas management forced us into this strike by violating our rights and sabotaging the collective bargaining process,” Local 639 Filler and Shop Steward Gus Saravia said in an Aug. 24 statement on X. “I’ve been with Airgas for 14 years. We are the backbone of this company’s success. We don’t want to be on strike, but if the company refused to negotiate a fair deal, they leave us no choice.”

Radnor, PA-based Airgas — owned by Paris, France-based Air Liqude —  ranked No. 4 on MDM’s Top Distributor’s List for Industrial Supplies, No. 4 for Safety and is on MDM’s unranked Gases & Welding Supplies List.