Teamsters Protest Sysco In Michigan

Foodservice Company Faces Dozens of Labor Law Violation Charges

News provided by

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Jun 02, 2015, 01:43 ET

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters protested Sysco Corporation [NYSE: SYY] outside the Michigan Restaurant Association's Capitol Day in Lansing, Mich., today. Sysco is the largest foodservice distributor in the nation.

Sysco faces a federal investigation of 30 alleged violations of labor law and 35 objections to a May 7 Grand Rapids, Mich., union election in which a lead union supporter was fired and workers were threatened with the loss of benefits or their jobs if they voted for union representation.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa urged elected officials to demand that Sysco live up to its fiscal and legal obligations as Michigan's largest foodservice provider which supplies restaurants affiliated with the Michigan Restaurant Association and holds key state contracts, including the Michigan State and University of Michigan foodservice accounts.

"We call on you to hold Sysco, which profits from state tax dollars and the hard-earned money of every Michigan resident who eats a meal away from home, to the highest standard of corporate citizenship and pay its fair share to ensure the state's fiscal well-being," Hoffa said.

George Brewster, a 14-year Sysco driver who was fired after Sysco management targeted him as a lead union supporter, met with House Minority Leader Tim Greimel Tuesday morning.

"Sysco makes money off Michigan taxpayers like me, my co-workers and other Michigan families," Brewster said. "I'm asking you today to do whatever is in your power to hold Sysco accountable for its behavior."

Sysco awaits a decision in the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its planned merger with fellow foodservice giant US Foods. The FTC, along with 11 state attorneys general, asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a temporary injunction to stop the deal. The FTC says a merger of the only two foodservice distributors with a national footprint could increase costs for consumers nationally and in dozens of local markets.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 8,000 Sysco members, 15,000 foodservice workers and more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @SyscoUSFworkers and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoUSFworkers.

Contact:
Kara Deniz, (202) 624-6911
[email protected]

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters