Strike at Del. soft drink distributor slows soda flow

A nearly two-week strike by workers at a soft drink distribution center in New Castle shows no signs of ending soon, leaving some stores running low on certain brands of soda and bottled water.

About 40 delivery drivers and warehouse workers overwhelmingly rejected a settlement offer from Canada Dry Distributing Co. of Wilmington on Thursday.

The two sides reportedly were not in communication Friday, and no negotiations are scheduled at this time.

"The last offer the company put forward didn't have any of the changes the workers were looking for," said Joe Smith, president of Teamsters Local 326, which represents the striking workers. "How long this goes on will depend on how long it takes them to offer a deal that provides better working conditions and fair pay."

In the meantime, the distribution center is meeting orders with the help of about 30 nonunion employees, including supervisors from Maryland and New Jersey facilities owned by the distribution center's parent company, said Bob Brockway, president and chief operating officer of Canada Dry Delaware Valley Bottling Co. and Canada Dry Potomac Corp., both subsidiaries of the Honickman Group – one of the largest, private soft-drink bottlers in the nation.

"I don't want to speculate about how long this work stoppage might last, but we're hoping to meet with the union next week," Brockway said. "But for now, we're operating reasonably close to normal, and there's been little impact as far as what customers can expect."

However, some supermarkets have had trouble filling their shelves with soft drinks supplied by the distribution center since the strike began.

The Acme Market in Wilmington's Trolley Square cited the work stoppage in a letter posted in the store this week. The letter apologized to customers for "out-of-stock conditions" on many products supplied by the distribution center, including Canada Dry soda and Snapple iced tea that were previously advertised as on sale in a circular.

The distribution center in Twin Spans Industrial Park off Wilmington Road also handles deliveries of Mistic and Nantucket Nectars brand iced teas, Vitamin Water, Hawaiian Punch, Country Time Lemonade, as well as a variety of soda brands owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, such as 7-Up, A&W root beer and Sunkist.

The facility services more than 4,000 customers in Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania, including Acme Markets, Wawa, ShopRite and Super Fresh.

Workers at the New Castle distribution center have been represented by the Teamsters for more than 15 years, but this is the first time they've gone on strike, union officials said.

The union's last labor agreement, signed in 2012, expired in February. Union members continued to work under the terms of that deal until May 19.

Smith said the workers chose to strike after years of being forced to take on additional responsibilities without commensurate pay. He said those requirements have included higher quotas for warehouse workers, delivery drivers being required to stock beverages at various stores and mandatory overtime for both types of workers.

"These guys don't have a problem doing the work; they just want to be compensated for it," he said. "This isn't China."

Shop steward James Wallace was one of eight union members picketing outside the distribution center Friday.

After nearly 20 years of working at the facility, Wallace said it was time to put his foot down about the changes that he said have gradually made it harder to earn a living with the company.

"Each one of us in the warehouse is required to move 212 cases an hour yet we bring home less than $400 a week," he said. "We're out here living check to check, and you can't live off that kind of money. I never thought it would come to this, but we're not going back to work until they give us a fair contract."

Wallace said he understands his family might be forced to go without if the strike continues on, but bristled at the thought of looking for work elsewhere.

"I started working here since before some of these managers," he said. "Why should I sacrifice the weeks of vacation and benefits I built here for their rule changes?"

Brockway said he's hopeful a new contract agreement can be reached soon.

"We offered them a wage package that we believe would have compensated them from some of those additional responsibilities our customers have asked us to do," he said. "Unfortunately, we just haven't been able to resolve the issue to everyone's satisfaction."

Contact Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.