Workers have been striking for two months at a Montco plant that makes HVAC components. Here’s why.

Workers employed at Lloyd Industries in Montgomeryville typically spend their days making components for HVAC systems, handling sheet metal, stainless steel, and fiberglass.

But for the past two months, instead of building fire dampers that block smoke or fire from spreading, 22 of them have found themselves on a picket line. On a recent day in late October, workers stood outside the plant wearing posters indicating they’re on strike.

Shop steward Ricky Boyer is among the 22, who have been showing up at 8 a.m. for the picket line, where the union is providing bagels, coffee, doughnuts, and lunch. He and his colleagues are seeking improvements to wages, healthcare, and working conditions after their most recent three-year union contract expired Sept. 1 and negotiations with the company broke down.

Since the strike started, another 25 colleagues have opted to go back to work, lured by higher wages than they typically make, according to the union that represents them, Sheet Metal Workers Local 19. In total, the union represents 47 workers at the site.

Boyer has opted to stay on strike because, he says, “I know you don’t cross the picket line.”

“The reason we’re out there is for our benefit,” said Boyer, who has been with the company for roughly 16 years. “It makes no sense to cross the picket line.”

Workers on strike are being financially supported by the union. Every week, workers “get more money from us than they’re getting inside [the company],” said Bryon Blum, business representative for Sheet Metal Workers Local 19.

A representative for Lloyd Industries did not respond to a request for comment.

Many workers have gone on strike in the Philadelphia area in recent years with short work stoppages. Peco workers went out for three days in July before reaching a deal with the company. Unionized hotel workers have gone on multiday strikes since they started bargaining for new contracts in 2025, and in 2024, Aramark workers went on strike for four days at all three South Philly stadiums.

At Lloyd Industries, workers are on their 11th week of picketing.

As the strike has dragged on, and despite the pay from the union, Blum says workers want to return to work.

“They tell me every day they want to go back to work, but they realize the importance of standing out here and sticking up for their rights,” he said.

Following three days of negotiations in August, Lloyd Industries owner, William “Billy” Lloyd, made a final proposal and walked away from bargaining, according to the union.

Since then, Blum has been unsuccessful in getting the company back to the negotiating table. The union has filed several unfair labor practice charges against the company with the National Labor Relations Board, including for failing to bargain in good faith, said Blum.

“We would be inside right now working and sitting down with a contract if the guys didn’t cross the line,” he said.

Workers make on average $23.85 an hour, and many depend on overtime, he says. A worker in Montgomery County, where the company is located, needs to make $26.97 an hour to cover their basic needs, according to a calculator developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If that single adult has a child to support, that hourly rate rises to $50.74 to be considered a living wage.

In their most recent contract, workers saw hourly wage increases of $1.50 in the first year and $1.25 in the following two years. This year, amid bargaining, the company offered workers a one-year contract with a 50-cent per hour increase, says Blum.

Shop steward Boyer says workers aren’t “asking for a lot,” but the 50-cent offer just “wasn’t even talkable,” pointing to high gas prices and the rising cost of groceries.

“We just want a fair contract,” Boyer said. “We want to be able to work, take care [of, and] provide for our families.”

Employees have medical insurance paid in part through their employer but want a better plan. Some forgo the insurance because they can’t afford it, Blum said.

They also want better working conditions, said Blum, who adds that the area they work in is “filthy” and that “nobody cleans in there.” Fiberglass, used for insulation, is floating around, he said.

“The workers want the machines to be cleaner, the air to be cleaner. They want management to stop turning off the exhaust fans,” he said.

Lloyd Industries was cited or inspected several times between 2000 and 2014 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), The Inquirer has reported. The company was ordered to pay $1,047,399 in 2019, after firing two workers in 2014 and 2015 who cooperated with OSHA investigators. The company also faced allegations that it was racially discriminating against a worker who was laid off in 2015, and ultimately won his case.

Local 19 has represented the workers for over 30 years, Blum said.

“They’re just working men that want to see a better way of life,” he said. “The union’s here to give them that. We’ve been trying to give them that for years now.”