At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Refresco — a transnational corporation that produces and bottles soft drinks for major brands such as Tropicana and Gatorade — had a single response to its staff about the public health crisis unfolding at its Wharton, New Jeresy, plant an hour outside of New York City: show up to work.

According to the workers at the plant and their union, employees exposed to the virus were denied time off, the factory remained open despite a broader economic shutdown, on top of the twelve-hour shifts the company required. (Workers say the company used the pandemic to justify longer shifts, while Refresco claims the new policy went into place prior to the emergence of COVID-19). Outraged, the predominantly immigrant workforce formed a union, winning their first election in June 2021 in what was one of the largest blue-collar union victories during the pandemic.

One year later, New York–based private equity megafirm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, also known as KKR & Co, became a majority owner of the company. Now workers claim that under KKR’s control, Refresco has been dragging its feet on negotiating a first contract with the union and pushing for draconian provisions such as only allowing workers to take weekends off once every eight weeks. KKR’s business model, meanwhile, depends on the pension funds of unionized teachers, firefighters, social workers, and bus drivers.