NYC beer delivery workers strike, threatening to dry out Coors, Corona and more popular brews from thousands of bars, restaurants
It’s a Beerpocalypse.
A strike by frothing-mad beer delivery workers threatens to deprive thousands of Big Apple bars and restaurants – and thirsty New Yorkers – of sweet suds from popular beers such as Coors, Corona and Sam Adams.
Hundreds of unionized workers for Manhattan Beer & Beverage Distributors picketed the beer behemoth’s Hunts Point headquarters Tuesday after contract talks came up dry, labor leaders said.
Manhattan Beer has shaken up the 600-odd employees – represented by the Laundry, Distribution, and Food Service Joint Board, Workers United/SEIU union – by allegedly pushing them to exit their pension plan.
“Keep your hands off our pensions,” union co-manager Alberto Arroyo told The Post.
Manhattan Beer has exclusive rights in New York City for several popular beers, distributing the likes of Blue Moon, Coors, Corona, Modelo and Sam Adams.
The strike potentially could dry up bars, bodegas and restaurants that receive shipments of roughly 300 brands of beer, cider, wine and other boozy beverages from Manhattan Beer, said a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Four of Manhattan Beer’s five facilities — including its Hunts Point headquarters — are affected by the strike.
The dispute stems from the company’s heavy-handed — and allegedly illegal, according to the union — effort to get workers to stop participating in their pension plan, with an eye toward replacing it with a 401(k) or other retirement option, the source said.
Manhattan Beer allegedly sidestepped the union and directly dealt with employees in their push, which led to the filing of an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
“Manhattan Beer should not be violating the law, committing unfair labor practices and trying to freeze our pensions,” said Joe Gonzalez Jr., a beer delivery worker, in a statement. “That’s what our fight is all about.
“No one should raise a glass to this kind of behavior.”
The union has proposed Manhattan Beer pony up a “modest” additional $1.50 an hour to preserve workers’ pension, both for current and future employees, the source said.
“Without monthly pension benefits when they retire, these workers will struggle in old age to pay for housing, groceries and other necessities of life,” he said in a statement. “That’s unacceptable.”
Manhattan Beer Distributors Founder and CEO Simon Bergson said he hopes for a minimal disruption of services and a swift resolution.
“A small committee of union members has decided to proceed with this strike without putting forth our offer to a vote of the full membership,” he said in a statement. “We have made a very compelling and attractive offer after several weeks of negotiations, and it is disappointing that the union has encouraged a strike without presenting this offer to its members.
“Our doors remain open as some union members have already chosen to come to work.”
