A strike by two of the four labor unions that represent Libbey Inc.’s local employees effectively pulled 750 people off the job Wednesday, sending the company scrambling to keep its North Toledo table glass factory running.

Libbey had secured tentative agreements with all four of its unions this week, but after the first three union locals voted overwhelmingly to reject the three-year deals, workers moved to the picket lines. The contracts expired Sept. 30.

“We just haven’t come to an agreement, that’s the bottom line,” said Dave Nelson, president of Glass Molders Plastics Local 59. “We’re not asking for much; we’re just asking to be treated fairly. That’s all we’re looking for.”

Mr. Nelson’s local, which has 109 members, went on strike in the early hours of Wednesday. He said the two sides couldn’t get together on a number of issues, though he declined to go into specifics.

Workers on the picket line, however, pointed to concerns over mandatory overtime, increases in health-insurance costs, lack of cost-of-living increases, and changes to the process by which the company can set or amend workplace rules.

“We’re hoping this is going to be quick, but they’re being completely unreasonable,” said Tony Russell, a Local 59 member who was picketing outside Libbey’s downtown Toledo corporate headquarters. “We didn’t go to the table asking for extra. We didn’t ask for anything extra. We just asked to keep what we have.”

A spokesman for Libbey declined to say what was in the tentative pacts. Libbey makes glasses and other tableware for homes and restaurants.

In a statement, the company said it was disappointed that its union workers called a strike and walked away from the bargaining table.

“Libbey is fully committed to return to the table to resume negotiations,” the statement said. “Libbey is prepared to run the Toledo plant and distribution centers without interruption during the strike period and will continue to provide its customers with the excellent service that they have come to expect.”

The International Association of Machinists Lodge 105 also went on strike. It wasn’t clear late Wednesday if negotiations with either of those unions had resumed.

Company and union officials said that negotiations were ongoing with the two United Steelworker-represented locals, Local 700T and Local 65T. 

Together, those two make up the bulk of Libbey’s hourly work force in Toledo. Both locals are under a contract extension that runs until midnight Friday.

“We’re bargaining, and and we’re hoping to come to a fair and just agreement with our members. We’re in support of our brothers and members in the Machinists and [Glass Molders Plastics] and hope they can come to a fair and just agreement also,” said Pat Gallagher, a subdistrict director with the Steelworkers.

Though the Steelworkers aren’t on strike themselves, they are honoring the picket line of the other two local unions and are not on the job.

The disruption is the first at Libbey’s Ash Street plant in nearly 20 years. In 1998, Local 59 waged a 12-day strike over concerns that staffing changes could lead to job losses. In the end, Libbey was given the ability to make adjustments to staffing organization but agreed to preserve the jobs of anyone affected by the changes.

The company narrowly avoided a strike early last year at its Shreveport, La., where workers voted down four contract proposals before finally approving a three-year deal. Shreveport is Libbey’s only other U.S. plant.

In addition to the Ash Street plant, Wednesday’s strike also affected a distribution center in Perrysburg. The company’s outlet store on Erie Street in Toledo’s Warehouse District wasn’t affected.

Many of the concerns raised by striking workers on Wednesday centered around what workers saw as excessive pay for executives and a change of culture within the company in recent years.

“It used to be a decent place to work. It used to be a place where you’d go and get along with management and your coworkers, and everybody would enjoy it,” Mr. Russell said. “Over the last six years, when Stephanie Streeter took over ... you could see how the care for their employees just went out the door.”

Ms. Streeter, who was hired as chief executive officer in 2011, abruptly left the company early this year and was replaced by William Foley.

Libbey reported a profit of $66.3 million on revenues of $822 million last year.

Tom Glaze, a 15-year employee and a member of Local 59, was frustrated by what he saw was a lack of recognition and respect for what employees gave up during the Great Recession. After employees helped Libbey weather the storm, he said, it’s time for the company to open the checkbook a bit.

“Libbey’s told us straight up that we’re asking too much, and we said no,” he said.

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134.

First Published October 13, 2016, 4:00 a.m.