Striking beer truck drivers get letters of termination

ST. LOUIS -- More than four months after walking off their jobs, striking beer truck drivers for Lohr Distributing Co. were notified they've lost their jobs to replacement workers, a union official said Tuesday.

The distributor sent letters of termination to about 25 drivers, saying that temporary replacements for striking workers had been made permanent employees, said Dan McKay, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 600.

The letters do not necessarily mean permanent job loss for those on strike, McKay said. If an agreement is reached, the union could negotiate to include the condition that the striking drivers get their jobs back, he said.

"When a company does it, they're taking a hard-line stance," McKay said. He said workers remained upbeat that an agreement can still be reached, but McKay said they were angry to receive the notices.

"They were told that they were part of the Lohr family, but apparently the Lohr family decided to discard them," McKay said.

Union workers for Lohr, a beer wholesaler that delivers Anheuser-Busch Inc. products in the city, have been on strike since May 22. Anheuser-Busch wholesalers outside the city are unaffected by the walkout.

Some businesses stopped accepting deliveries of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch products in support of the strike. Striking workers also have distributed leaflets outside of St. Louis Cardinals games, asking fans to consider temporarily boycotting Anheuser-Busch products.

in the city.

"We're realistic. With the playoffs, we know people are going to be drinking beer," McKay said. However, the union is still encouraging supporters to take part in a temporary boycott, he said.

Mike Jurkiewicz, a regional vice president for Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement, "Lohr Distributing Co. is one of our valued wholesalers, but it is an independent business and we have no involvement in their daily operations."

About 25 Lohr distribution workers, and another dozen who work as needed, haven't had a contract with Lohr Distributing since February.

Lohr workers would agree to a new health insurance deductible, with a limit on their out-of-pocket expenses, McKay said, but they haven't received that from Lohr.

He said workers also have concerns about their pay. Workers receive a daily guaranteed amount, which varies from worker to worker, plus a commission based on what they deliver, McKay said. Drivers remain concerned that cuts to their commissions could reduce their income.