Headline News
Nationwide Effort To Turn Up Heat On MillerCoors
The CEOs of MillerCoors are the targets of a new social media campaign launched by the union recently. Originally drawn up around Superbowl 50 seeing as the Denver (home of MillerCoors) Broncos were competing against the North Carolina (site of Eden brewery) Panthers, the campaign has now transformed into a nation-wide effort in order to turn up the heat on the company and its plan to shut down the profitable, award-winning brewery in Eden, N.C.
In a press release announcing the campaign, Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President said, “Shutting the Eden brewery will destroy more than 500 good jobs and devastate North Carolina families.”
“We believe the decision to shut the Eden facility and eliminate more than 10 percent of MillerCoors’ U.S. production capacity is part of a strategy to reduce supply and raise prices in the U.S. market,” Hoffa said. “It’s a bad deal for North Carolina and a bad deal for consumers.”
During SuperBowl 50 weekend, Teamsters from local 391, and others, handbilled North Carolina bars and restaurants encouraging fans through social media to send a message to MillerCoors to keep the Eden brewery open and operational.
The Eden brewery has been named MillerCoors’ brewery of the year for three of the last five years. It is one of the most efficient, productive and profitable facilities in the whole MillerCoors system according to MillerCoors’ analysis.
And, earlier this month, MillerCoors named Eden as number one in worker safety. Upon hearing this during an interview with Vernon Gammon, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 391, Rick Smith, labor radio show host, said, “It doesn’t make sense that the company would want to close this plant which has been number one in productivity and now, safety!”
Support for the social media campaign has been strong – with more than 2,500 e-mail letters already sent to the CEO’s to protest their plan.
“It is not too late for MillerCoors to save this world-class brewery,” said David Laughton, Director of the Teamsters Brewery Conference.
To send your letter, go to: http://ibt.io/eden