Members of the Teamsters local 597 union picket outside the Dairy Farmers of America plant in St. Albans on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger A U.S. District Court judge has mandated that Dairy Farmers of America keep contributing its portion of the union workers’ he alth insurance after idling the St. Albans Creamery plant in August. The employees at the plant, which is a subsidiary of the Dairy Farmers of America co-operative, have been out of work since the plant closed on Aug. 17, and the portion of their health insurance covered by DFA was set to expire at the end of this month. “That takes a big load off a lot of their minds,” said Curtis Clough, president of the union representing about 80 workers, Teamsters Local 597. The union claimed DFA closed the St. Albans dairy plant in retaliation for union activity, including a strike which took place late last year. The co-op denied that assertion, describing the plant as unviable, and labeling the closure a private-sector business decision.  DFA intended to stop paying its portion of the workers’ health insurance plans, which was about 85%, according to court documents. Nearly all the employees and many of their families are covered by the plan, according to the court filing. Workers said they were paying about $80 per week for their insurance, and many said they would not be able to afford insurance without DFA’s contribution, according to court documents. Several workers also have pressing medical issues and prescriptions that would cost thousands of dollars, according to the union. Lawyers representing the union filed for an injunction with the court last week, asking the court to require DFA to continue paying its portion. Teamsters attorney Jason Vazquez called U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III’s decision on Monday a big win for the union. “It’s very exciting and, most importantly, we’re very happy that the group’s insurance will be protected… for the next few months, or however long it takes for us to resolve this dispute with the company,” he said. In his decision, Sessions cited the potential for irreparable harm to the workers. “The declarations submitted by Plaintiff, including those employees who have secured new employment but whose access to new coverage will be delayed, illustrate the hardships employees will suffer,” he wrote. “For those employees, the emotional and physical harms resulting from a lack of insurance would be beyond the arbitrator’s ability to remedy.” This latest filing comes in a series of legal actions taken by the union, which alleges DFA illegally retaliated by closing the plant after the union went on strike late last year. The union secured a temporary restraining order to stop DFA from making irreversible changes to the plant, like selling it. The union argues that, because the parties haven’t gone through arbitration, the plant should remain in a condition that would allow it to reopen. The court vacated the restraining order once DFA agreed it would not take any more steps to further close the plant and would expedite arbitration proceedings to determine if DFA indeed closed the plant in retaliation for union activities. The two sides have not set a date for arbitration, which is a separate process from the court’s proceedings. The union’s request to expedite the arbitration process was denied by the courts, but both parties have agreed on an arbitrator, according to Vazquez. He said they will start working to schedule arbitration as early as this week. “We are ready to arbitrate,” Clough said. “We can arbitrate tomorrow.” Vazquez said members of the union and their lawyers will meet with DFA Thursday to continue bargaining over a potential severance package for the workers. DFA officials had not responded to VTDigger’s request for comment as of Wednesday afternoon. Read the story on VTDigger here: Court orders Dairy Farmers of America to keep paying its share of union employees’ health insurance after shuttering the St. Albans Creamery. ...read more read less