DENISON, Iowa (AP) -- Workers at the Denison Farmland pork plant have overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from the company.
About 1,400 workers voted by more than 92 percent on Sunday to reject the proposal. The previous contract expired at midnight Sunday.
In a statement, Local 440 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union said the company's demands would have significantly increased workers' share of health care coverage.
Local 440 spokesman Leo Kanne said the other sticking point is wages.
There was no immediate comment from the company.
The Denison plant is one of nine pork-processing plants run by Farmland Foods of Kansas City, Mo., which is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods of Smithfield, Va.
