More than 75% of the nearly 100 beverage delivery and warehouse workers employed by Penske Logistics who warehouse and deliver products for Republic National Distributing Co. have voted to join Teamsters Local 174.
The Penske workers join fellow beverage workers from Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits, Columbia Distributing, Anheuser Busch, PepsiCo, Swire Coca-Cola, and Shasta as members of Teamsters Local 174.
The organizing campaign for these workers was challenging, given the fact they work for a subcontractor, not directly for RNDC. Early in the campaign, several workers supporting the union organizing drive were fired by Penske in a clear case of retaliation for Union activity. Teamsters Local 174 filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of the workers, and Penske was found guilty of violating federal labor law. The workers received back wages due to Penske’s illegal actions. “This blatant violation of the law helped energize the workers, culminating in a victory giving the workers the right to be represented by Local 174,” the union said. The results were certified Thursday.