May 30 2007

Support Yuengling

Yuengling brewery is under attack by teamster thugs who wish to use the law to force workers into their pyramid scheme against their will.

Dick Yuengling Jr., fifth-generation owner of the brewery that bears his name, called his employees together a few weeks before their labor contract was set to expire to talk about the future of the business.

“Read between the lines,” he told them at one point, according to government documents on the management-union feud that followed.

Depending upon whom you ask, Yuengling’s speech was either a pep talk to urge employees to work harder or an ultimatum to dump the Teamsters union, which is what they did.

. . .The union has been trying to strike back, urging a boycott of the 178-year-old brewery’s product. The company says the effort has fallen flat — with “absolutely zero feedback” from the marketplace, according to chief operating officer David Casinelli.

. . .Union leaders say Dick Yuengling told the workers that he would sell the business or shut it down unless they shed their decades-long affiliation with the Teamsters. How else, they say, to explain the sudden decision to decertify?

The brewery says employees started a decertification drive on their own with no encouragement or interference from the owner.

“The company simply honored the employees’ wishes,” Casinelli said.

And the National Labor Relations Board sided with the company. It could find no evidence that management pressured employees to leave Philadelphia-based Local 830 of the Teamsters.

No surprise there, the Teamsters said. Employees were too scared of losing their $20-an-hour jobs to come forward to testify about what was said at the meeting, union leaders said.

Ah, how nice it must be that no matter the outcome or development, it is evidence of your position! “People didn’t come forward to support our claims? It’s because they are intimidated!! No one has said they’ve seen any intimidation? Clearly that’s evidence that they are too intimidated to talk!” Looks like the teamsters will have to find some other saps to shakedown.

Send the unions a message and have a beer.

Published under Labor Unions

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.