Airgas workers in Ferndale who had been on strike for a year are headed back to work with full back pay and benefits after an arbitrator ruled in favor of Teamsters Local 283. The decision means 24 drivers, pump fillers and loaders who walked out on May 15, 2025 will be reinstated after months of waiting for a resolution.

The ruling lands now because it closes a labor fight that had stretched across nearly a full year and left the workers out of their jobs while the dispute moved through arbitration. Sean M. O’Brien said the members endured hardship for almost a full year as Airgas tried to wear them down, but they never crossed the picket line.

O’Brien, the Teamsters General President, also said the outcome sends a clear message that employers who violate workers’ rights will be held accountable. He said the union would keep fighting to protect its members in every industry and every state.

The case centered on whether Airgas had dealt fairly with the workers before the strike and during the dispute. The union said the company repeatedly failed to offer a fair contract and accused Airgas of unlawful threats, lockouts, discharge and retaliation for workers exercising their legal rights. It also said the company failed to give notice or an opportunity to bargain.

The arbitrator sided with the Teamsters and ordered that the members be reinstated with full back pay and benefits. Airgas, a subsidiary of Air Liquide, did not comment in the article. For the workers, the decision does more than end a walkout: it restores a year of lost wages and puts them back on the job after a labor dispute that had become a test of how far both sides were willing to go.