Striking beer delivery workers are back on the job supplying thirsty New Yorkers after a two-day work stoppage with a new contract, their union said Thursday.
The delivery and distribution workers reached a deal with management for “a strong new union contract with improved pensions,” according to the union.
“The new contract still needs to be ratified by the members, but it protects and improves the pensions. It is a significant victory,” said a union representative.
Unionized employees of Manhattan Beer and Beverage Distributors had walked off the job Tuesday, the day their contract expired, over an unfair labor practice charge, accusing management of circumventing the union and attempting to deal directly with workers.
The striking workers, represented by the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board, Workers United/SEIU, said they were also being pressured into allowing the company to leave the pension plan.
More than 400 of the 600 unionized workers took part in the pickets at the distributor’s Hunts Point headquarters on E. 149th St. in the Bronx and at other facilities owned by the company on Metropolitan Ave. in Ridgewood, Queens, as well as in Wyandanch, L.I., and Suffern, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley, the union said.
Manhattan Beer employees supply bars, restaurants, delis and groceries throughout New York City, Westchester, Long Island and the Hudson Valley with beer, wine and cider with their fleet of 350 trucks.
“We’re pleased to announce we’ve reached an agreement and the strike is over,” said Simon Bergson, CEO and founder of Manhattan Beer Distributors.