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Employees of Premier-Midwest Beer and Beverage have been picketing around the clock since their union contract expired on Monday, Teamsters Local 554 tells KETV.The union’s principal officer said the company has the “sole intent of crushing the union.””It’s all about corporate greed,” Teamsters Local 554 principal officer Danny Avelyn said.Nearly 50 employees are picketing as of Thursday, Avelyn said. He said nearly all of the company’s original staff are unionized. “It’s about 48 people who have wives, husbands and children that are counting on this,” he said.The parent company, Glazer’s Beer and Beverage, told KETV in a statement that “nobody wins in a strike.” The company said it’s focused on reaching a “competitive agreement “without a work stoppage, while ensuring service for Nebraska customers. The company serves eight eastern Nebraska counties, including Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Platte and Washington. Avelyn said the union has worked with Premier Midwest Beer and Beverage and its predecessor for more than three decades without issue.Things changed when Glazer’s purchased Premier Midwest in 2023, he said.Monday brought the end of the union contract that the new ownership inherited, Avelyn said. Before then, Glazer’s brought more than 35 demands to the bargaining table, he said, all of them “gutting what has been the foundation of this collective bargaining agreement.” That includes a weakening of health care benefits, he said. Glazer’s confirmed to KETV that the Sarpy County location is their only unionized location among about a dozen sites. The union says nearly all of the original staff at this location are union members, while the company states that “many” non-union employees are working. Glazer’s says they have been negotiating in good faith for weeks.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
Employees of Premier-Midwest Beer and Beverage have been picketing around the clock since their union contract expired on Monday, Teamsters Local 554 tells KETV.
The union’s principal officer said the company has the “sole intent of crushing the union.”
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“It’s all about corporate greed,” Teamsters Local 554 principal officer Danny Avelyn said.
Nearly 50 employees are picketing as of Thursday, Avelyn said. He said nearly all of the company’s original staff are unionized.
“It’s about 48 people who have wives, husbands and children that are counting on this,” he said.
The parent company, Glazer’s Beer and Beverage, told KETV in a statement that “nobody wins in a strike.” The company said it’s focused on reaching a “competitive agreement “without a work stoppage, while ensuring service for Nebraska customers.
The company serves eight eastern Nebraska counties, including Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Platte and Washington.
Avelyn said the union has worked with Premier Midwest Beer and Beverage and its predecessor for more than three decades without issue.
Things changed when Glazer’s purchased Premier Midwest in 2023, he said.
Monday brought the end of the union contract that the new ownership inherited, Avelyn said.
Before then, Glazer’s brought more than 35 demands to the bargaining table, he said, all of them “gutting what has been the foundation of this collective bargaining agreement.”
That includes a weakening of health care benefits, he said.
Glazer’s confirmed to KETV that the Sarpy County location is their only unionized location among about a dozen sites. The union says nearly all of the original staff at this location are union members, while the company states that “many” non-union employees are working.
Glazer’s says they have been negotiating in good faith for weeks.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
