By VDC staff 

Sen. Bernie Sanders will join unionized dairy workers Wednesday in St. Albans to call on Dairy Farmers of America to abandon plans to close its milk processing plant and lay off about 80 Vermont workers, his office said in a press statement Tuesday. 

Sanders, I-Vt., is scheduled to hold a press conference at 1 PM Wednesday, Aug. 19, outside the Dairy Farmers of America plant at 158 Federal Street. Workers represented by Teamsters Local 597 are expected to join him.

The event comes amid a labor dispute over DFA’s decision to close the St. Albans facility less than a year after workers ratified a new contract following a nearly two-week strike.

In October 2025, workers approved the contract after an extended bargaining process and strike. According to Sanders’ office, DFA initially praised the agreement but subsequently announced plans to shutter the facility.

Sanders contends the closure is retaliation for workers exercising their right to organize and strike.

On Tuesday, Sanders said he sent a letter to DFA’s CEO demanding that the company reverse course. His office said recent public reporting has raised questions about whether the planned closure is connected to last year’s strike.

A federal judge on Monday granted a temporary restraining order blocking the closure, according to Sanders’ office. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday.

Sanders is calling on DFA to keep the St. Albans operation open and preserve the roughly 80 jobs at the facility.

The dispute involves Dairy Farmers of America, a farmer-owned dairy cooperative that operates processing facilities around the country. The St. Albans plant has long been part of Vermont’s dairy-processing industry. 

Sanders’ office characterized the planned shutdown as an attack on workers’ organizing rights and said the senator will demand that DFA “reopen the facility and stop its illegal and unacceptable retaliation plan.”