PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — With less than two weeks until the Fourth of July, workers at multiple beer distributors have gone on strike. Union leaders say customers in the five-county Philadelphia region may see fewer shelves stocked ahead of the holiday.
Teamsters Local 830 began the strike on Sunday against the Delaware Valley Importers Distribution Association after the two could not come to an agreement on the latest contract proposal over compensation and hours.
Union members, including hundreds of drivers, warehouse workers and others in regional beverage jobs, have been protesting outside three distributors: Penn Beer Sales and Service in Hatfield, and Origlio Beverages and Muller, Inc., both in Northeast Philadelphia.
Local 830 Secretary-Treasurer Daniel Grace called the proposal “insulting” and “deceptive.”
“Compensation is always an issue, but what’s particularly problematic is the beverage companies’ proposed hours of work for our members,” he said in a statement, “12-hour shifts for five or six consecutive days. That’s excessive.”
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Local 830 argues the proposal would only affect a small percentage of members.
“Amazon, a vehemently anti-union corporation, is offering job applicants for their Northeast Philadelphia warehouse operations a better starting wage and benefits package than the Delaware Valley Importing Distribution Association is offering our members,” Grace noted.
The companies distribute beverages like Budweiser, Corona, White Claw Hard Seltzer, Coors and a number of others.
Erin Wallace’s bar, Devil’s Den in South Philadelphia, specializes in craft beer. She ordered extra drinks a week ago after hearing about the possibility of a strike.
“But you don’t want to buy too much because then it sits in your basement,” she said. “We made arrangements to pad a little bit. It will definitely affect our business, but it won’t stop. We specialize in craft and we have some other options out there.”
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Wallace noted the three main distributors on strike carry big-name products as well as beverages from regional craft breweries.
“Victory, Yards, Ommegang, 2SP, Cape May,” she said. “A lot of those will be affected as well.”
Correction: A previous version of this story said thousands of workers were on strike, not hundreds.