San Francisco, 20 June 2008 - Miller and Coors delivery drivers represented by Teamsters Local 278 in San Francisco, California are preparing to strike DBI Beverage Corporation, to protest the Tennessee-based company's plans to eliminate their retirement plan and unjustly fire employees. DBI Beverage Corporation distributes Miller and Coors in San Francisco.
"With all the money that Miller and Coors distributors pull in, treating the workers who actually haul the cases so poorly is shameful," said Jack Cipriani, Director of the Teamsters Brewery and Soft Drink Conference.
DBI Beverage distributes beer in San Francisco for companies such as SABMiller, Molsen Coors Brewing, Crown Imports and Heineken. The company also owns Miller and Coors distributorships in Sacramento, San Jose, and Napa. Workers at the San Jose facility are represented by the Teamsters.
"DBI is a profitable distributor that just moved into San Francisco. If Miller and Coors want to maintain their reputation in San Francisco, their distributor needs to stop trying to destroy good jobs that support San Francisco families," said Chuck Mack, President of Teamsters Joint Council 7.
Over the past month, delivery drivers have repeatedly asked Miller and Coors to intervene in the dispute. "It’s just disappointing that Miller and Coors don’t care how poorly their distributors are treating us," said John Berry, who has delivered Miller and Coors products in San Francisco for over 20 years.
The Teamsters Union was founded in 1903 and represents more than 1.4 million hard working men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.