Union workers are walking off the job at CSL Behring.

The 738 members of the CSL Behring labor union will not report to work, effective at 11 p.m. Wednesday.

The timing of the strike marks the official end of the three-year contract the union had been working under. The sides have been negotiating a new three-year contract.

Leadership of the United Chemical Workers 498-C union said with no scheduled negotiating sessions, the time had come to walk off the job at the Bourbonnais Township-based production facility.

The union and CSL management are at odds regarding the further use of third-party companies and workers, rather than Local 498-C laborers.

CSL presented a contract proposal and on Sunday union membership overwhelmingly rejected the vote. The votes was 648-5. At the same time, workers authorized permission to strike by a 652-1 margin.

Negotiating sessions were held Monday and Tuesday, but no new offer was presented, said Local 498-C president John Austin, therefore the strike was initiated.

Unlike most labor-management conflicts, the sticking point here revolves around outsourcing work to non-CSL workers, thereby causing great concern among unionized workers regarding the stability of their future employment.

CSL is Kankakee County’s largest manufacturing facility, with an approximate workforce of 1,500.

“All union members will be on strike as of 11 p.m. today [Wednesday],” Austin said. “We are in a waiting period. They [management] said on Tuesday they were not moving.”

With communication seemingly shut off and membership becoming upset, the strike was put in place, Austin said.

“All we are looking for is job security and we are not getting it. Everyone is upset,” he said.

In a statement from CSL, the company said they remain ready to resume negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement.

“CSL has been a cornerstone of the Kankakee County community for 70 years and we want to ensure we have a strong future for decades more,” said CSL Behring Kankakee vice president of manufacturing and site head Abner Garcia-Delgado.

“We play an important part in helping CSL deliver lifesaving medicines to the patients who depend on us every day,” he said.

Garcia-Delgado said the company offered an “excellent contract proposal.” He said the proposal included an 11% pay hike over three years, an extra paid holiday, no additional out-of-pocket costs for healthcare, and other benefits which were “extremely competitive compared to other employers in the region.”

Regarding production at the plant, CSL officials said production work will continue. CSL noted other employees will be put in place to complete the production work.

Austin, 45, said he believes this is the first strike at the plant since the late 1980s.

“I was certainly hoping we could have worked something out. We are still hoping something can be worked out. But I’ve heard nothing today [Wednesday],” he said.

What has concerned workers is the agreement CSL entered into three years ago with JLL [Jones Lang LaSalle], a third-party company which has performed maintenance technician services at the plant. JLL then contracted out janitorial services to another company, ADM Industries.

The union views this practice as a threat to their job security.

In a Tuesday interview with The Journal, Abner Garcia-Delgado, CSL site lead, said the company presented what it considered a “very good offer” to the union.

The pact included annual pay raises of 4%, 3.5% and 3.5%.

He further said the contract language revolving around potential outside labor coming to the site has been in the contract for decades. He said CSL had no further plans to hired third-party contractors, but said the language would not be removed.

CSL develops and produces life-saving medications for those dealing with certain bleeding disorders, immune deficiencies, as well as hereditary angioedema, among other therapies.