Teamsters' Strike at US Foods Spreads to Colorado, Washington

News provided by

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Nov 04, 2011, 03:57 ET

Workers Honor Picket Lines At Two More US Foods Distribution Facilities

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- US Foods workers in Fife, Wash., and Englewood, Colo., walked off the job today in solidarity with Teamsters across the country on strike against the Rosemont, Ill., food service giant.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO)

At the Fife facility, more than 100 members of Teamsters Local 117 walked off the job early today, honoring a picket line established by Teamsters Local 174 in Tukwila.

In Englewood, more than 200 members of Teamsters Local 455 walked off the job at US Foods at noon today. They are honoring a picket line set by Teamsters Joint Council 3 in Denver.

Two additional Teamster locals in Oregon and Washington have also notified US Foods that they will honor picket lines if any are extended to facilities where their members work or deliver product.

More than 1,800 Teamsters have now honored picket lines at US Foods facilities in Illinois, Missouri, New York, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Jersey.

The initial strike began when maintenance workers in Streator, Ill., struck US Foods in response to the company's unfair labor practices, which include retaliating against employees for engaging in union activity. US Foods disciplined a Streator employee for being absent while he was in contract negotiations with the company as part of the bargaining committee for Teamsters Local 722.

The Teamsters Union represents about 4,000 employees at US Foods at 25 distribution centers throughout the nation.

To learn more, visit www.USFoodsWorkers.org and www.flickr.com/photos/usfoodsworkers.

US Foods, which distributes food and related products to restaurants, military bases and hospitals, is owned by private equity giants KKR and CD&R. KKR and CD&R purchased US Foods (then U.S. Foodservice) in 2007, then saddled US Foods with approximately $5 billion in debt.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @teamsterpower.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters