News Updates

Members of Teamsters Local 325 in Rockford, Ill., protested at the Chicago Bears game at Soldiers Field yesterday in opposition to plans by MillerCoors’, a subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), largest distributor in Illinois, Hayes Beer Distributing Company, to destroy any guarantees of health care coverage.

Nearly a year ago, the drivers, merchandisers and helpers at the MillerCoors distributor in Rockford voted to join the Teamsters Union. Since then, they have been retaliated against by having money taken out of their paychecks in violation of federal law. Hayes is also trying to impose on its workers a contract that refuses any guarantee of health care coverage.

Teamster members distributed leaflets to Bears fans and an airplane circled overhead towing a banner that read, “Miller Wants Chicago to Lose.”

“Bears fans have made Miller the number one beer in Chicago,” said Jeff Porter, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 325. “So you’d think Miller would want to treat the hardworking people of Illinois who deliver Miller beer with the respect they deserve.”

“We work hard to service local businesses so we can support our families,” said Jim Stilson, a driver with Hayes Beer Distributing. “We just want the community to know that Illinois families are having their health care coverage threatened. Destroying my health care guarantees destroys community standards. MillerCoors needs to make sure it lives up to those standards.”

“Forcing employees into a health care plan with no guarantees is irresponsible,” said Porter. “The loss of health coverage could easily bankrupt a family and we won’t stand for that.”

The employees of Hayes Beer Distributing distribute MillerCoors beer brands to the Rockford metropolitan area, the Chicago suburbs and northern Illinois. The Teamsters Brewery and Soft Drink Workers Conference also represents more than 1,200 employees of MillerCoors breweries in the United States and Canada.

The conference is part of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which was founded in 1903 and represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
 

After the Diageo company, the makers of Johnny Walker whiskey announced the possibility of 900 layoffs, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa sent a letter to Diageo CEO Paul Walsh urging him to keep the workers in two distilleries in Scotland employed. Last year Diageo’s profits were in excess of $4 billion and the CEO’s own salary was $10 million.

“The loss of nine hundred jobs will have catastrophic economic consequences for these workers, their families and the communities in Scotland,” Hoffa wrote. View letter here.

The Teamsters Union urges everyone to support Diageo workers by contacting Unite the Union, the labor union which represents employees of Diageo in Scotland. There is an important poll on the Unite website.

Teamsters at MillerCoors breweries in Eden, N.C., and Fort Worth, Texas, have ratified new, three-year contracts. The agreements cover more than 900 employees at the two breweries and provide wage and pension increases over the three-year contracts.

“Our members overwhelmingly ratified these contracts at MillerCoors because they provide stability for their families,” said Jack Cipriani, Director of the Teamsters Brewery and Soft Drink Workers Conference and International Vice President. “For the next three years, our members at MillerCoors know that their wages and pension benefits will increase, which is saying a lot in today’s economy.” Hourly wages will increase by 75 cents for the first year, another 75 cents for the second year and 80 cents for the third year. The contracts were approved Saturday.

During negotiations, which occurred simultaneously, MillerCoors management attempted to persuade the Teamster bargaining teams to accept higher healthcare co-pays. However, because of coordination between Teamster negotiators at the two breweries, there will be no health care cost increase the first year and only minor increases for the second and third years.

Since the Teamsters Union also sets retiree health care as a priority, the bargaining committees made certain that their coverage remained free. There will continue to be no premiums for retirees who have retired or who will retire through the end of the three-year contracts.

“We value all generations of our members,” Cipriani said. “So, we made sure that there were improvements for both active members at MillerCoors and the retirees who had paved the way before with their long years of service.”

The Teamsters Brewery and Soft Drink Workers Conference represents 1,200 MillerCoors workers nationwide. The third and final contract, for the MillerCoors plant in Irwindale, Calif., is currently being negotiated.

By an over 90 percent margin, members of Local Union 118 working at High Falls Brewing Company in Rochester, New York, have ratified a new, four-year collective bargaining agreement. The contract includes long term health care improvements and wage increases for the 300 members at the brewery.

High Falls Brewery has been operating in Rochester since 1878 and produces the Genesee and Dundee Ales beer lines, among many others.