Teamsters Local 175's Luke Farley on the Beverage Market Strike in West Virginia

Luke Farley, Secretary-Treasurer and staff attorney for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 175 in Charleston, W.Va., joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to describe a strike that is now entering its fourth week against Beverage Market, a MillerCoors distributor serving approximately half the counties in West Virginia.

The company's contract proposals include wage cuts for lead positions, a nickel-an-hour raise for other workers, health insurance premium increases of up to 880 percent, elimination of retiree health insurance supplements and rollbacks to retirement benefits — all from a company that explicitly acknowledged it is not claiming financial hardship. The 49 members voted unanimously to reject the contract and unanimously to strike.

• Beverage Market's contract proposals include pay cuts of up to $2 per hour for lead positions, a nickel-per-hour increase for remaining positions, health insurance premium increases of up to 880 percent that would amount to nearly $5 per hour in additional costs for some workers, elimination of retiree health insurance supplements and retirement benefit rollbacks. Meanwhile, the company has acknowledged at the table that to be profitable and not claiming any form of financial hardship.
• All 49 striking Teamsters Local 175 members voted unanimously to reject the company's contract offer and to strike, maintaining 24-hour, seven-day-a-week picket lines now entering their fourth week. Community support has been overwhelming, with multiple customers refusing deliveries and members of the public making daily donations to the picket line. Teamsters International also provided financial assistance, strategy support and materials.
• Farley described the Beverage Market situation as the single worst example of corporate greed he has encountered in 20 years of labor negotiations, adding that CWA successfully reached favorable contracts with a dairy, Pepsi Cola and Coca-Cola in the same beverage industry this year alone. In his opinion, Beverage Market's concessionary demands are not just unreasonable but an outlier against the industry standard.

From Coal Country to the Courtroom to the Teamsters

Luke Farley grew up in West Virginia with a coal-mining father and a United Mine Workers of America household. When he went to law school, he always planned to come back and work for a union. The Teamsters were hiring when he finished a clerkship at the West Virginia Supreme Court, and he has been with Local 175 ever since — now in his second decade as secretary-treasurer and staff attorney. He described it as the best professional decision he has made.

The Local represents between 3,000 and 3,200 members across West Virginia. This month, 49 of them are on a picket line that has been running around the clock since mid-May.

What Beverage Market Is Proposing

The strike against Beverage Market, a distributor of Miller, Coors, Modelo and Corona products serving approximately half of West Virginia's counties, did not happen because the company is struggling. Farley said the company confirmed across the bargaining table that it is not claiming any financial hardship. The proposals on the table are not the product of necessity. They are, in his assessment, punitive.

Lead positions would see pay cuts of up to $2 per hour. Other positions were offered a nickel-per-hour increase — not enough to offset anything, and certainly not the health insurance changes the company is also demanding, Farley said. Health insurance premiums would increase by as much as 880 percent for some workers, translating to nearly $5 per hour in additional out-of-pocket costs. Retiree health insurance supplements would be eliminated. Retirement benefits would be rolled back. The proposals, taken together, represent an attempt to break the employees’ spirit and break the union itself, Farley said.

The company's owners have not appeared at the bargaining table. They have only sent an attorney. Farley said asking the company's representative basic questions — like how many years of contract the company is proposing — yields no coherent answer. The current proposal includes a single-year raise, but the company cannot explain whether it is seeking a one-, two-, or three-year agreement.

Unanimous Vote, Unanimous Strike

When the membership saw what was on the table, the response was unified. Every member voted to reject the contract. Every member voted to strike. Farley said this is not a situation with a divided membership wondering whether to hold the line. The 49 workers on that picket line made a collective decision and have not wavered from it for four weeks of strike action in late spring, heading into summer.

They also made a decision the company likely did not anticipate: to run 24-hour, seven-day-a-week picket lines even though Beverage Market does not typically operate around the clock. The workers chose that standard themselves. Farley said morale remains high and solidarity remains intact.

Community Support and What Is at Stake

Beverage Market's territory covers roughly 1,900 customers across approximately half of West Virginia's counties. The impact of the strike is visible. Shelves at smaller stores are empty. Mom-and-pop accounts are being ignored entirely as the company focuses its limited scab delivery capacity on Walmart and major chain retailers. With Memorial Day already passed and July 4th approaching, the company risks missing two of the most significant beer-selling holidays of the year.

The community has responded with genuine solidarity. Multiple customers have refused to accept goods deliveries outright. Donations arrive at the picket line daily. The striking workers were so moved by the community response that they organized their own community appreciation event to say thank you. Farley said the support has been a meaningful sustaining force for workers whose livelihoods are directly affected by the strike continuing every week.

Teamsters International has been fully engaged — providing financial assistance, strategic guidance, billboard campaigns and public communications support. Farley worked closely with Jeff Padellaro, head of the Teamsters Brewery and Soft Drink Division, and said the full weight of the International is behind the Local.

What Comes Next

Farley said the union is not backing down. The Local has proposed a three-year contract. The company cannot articulate what it wants. Every comparable beverage industry contract negotiated by Local 175 this year — with PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and a local dairy company — produced strong increases and moved workers forward. Beverage Market is the lone outlier, and Farley said there is no justification for it other than greed.

Scabby the Rat, he confirmed, is available and may be making an appearance on the picket line. Workers who know exactly what their colleagues are sacrificing on that line deserve to have their message seen.

Anyone who wants to support the strike or follow its progress can visit teamsters175.org.

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