Headline News
Best Pizza Chain In America” Joins Clare Rose Boycott”
GREAT NECK, N.Y. – Called “The Best Pizza Chain in America” by USA Today, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza is now a leader in the fight to save good jobs at local beer distributor Clare Rose. Workers at Clare Rose have been on strike for nearly two months after the company cut drivers’ wages by 30 percent and ended their pensions. Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza joins Belmont Park and over three dozen local bars, stores, and restaurants in boycotting Clare Rose.
“Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza’s Long Island locations are boycotting Clare Rose and Anheuser-Busch products because of how the company has treated its workers,” said Anthony Bruno, owner of Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. “It’s not acceptable to cut wages and pensions, then fire your workers when they stand up for themselves. I know that my restaurants are only successful because of the support we get from our community. When our community needs our support, we are there for them too.”
Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza has eight locations in Long Island and 68 across the country. The Long Island locations are in Bohemia, Carle Place, Commack, Farmingdale, Great Neck, Stony Brook, Wantagh, and Woodbury.
“Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza is an institution, and we are glad to have them on our side,” said Ed Weber, President of Teamsters Local 812. “The longer this strike goes on, the more lasting the damage will be to Clare Rose and Anheuser-Busch. The workers will stay out as long as it takes to save their jobs. It’s time for CEO Sean Rose to end the wage and benefit cuts and come back to the table.”
Across Long Island, beer taps and shelf space are shifting over from Anheuser-Busch products to competing brands, as the boycott and strike have their effect. At last weekend’s Belmont Stakes, organizers quickly changed beer distributors to implement the boycott, turning the park’s “Budweiser Food Truck Village” into the “Coors Light Food Truck Village” overnight. Many bars, either in support of strikers or simply fed up with poor service from scab replacements, have switched over to Miller, Coors, or other beer brands.
Teamsters Local 812 negotiated with Clare Rose for months without progress before the highly-profitable company imposed the huge wage and benefits cuts, causing the strike. After workers had been on strike less than one day, the company sent them letters saying they were being permanently replaced and directing them to the National Right to Work Defense Fund for assistance quitting the union.
“A lot of us take our families to Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza for special occasions and it feels so good to have Anthony’s support,” said Mark Pooler, who has been a driver at Clare Rose for 26 years. “I know I speak for all the members when I say our resolve has not diminished one bit. We intend to win this strike and protect the wages and pensions that our families count on.”
The Brookhaven IDA has also opened an audit of Clare Rose. The company has received over a million dollars in tax breaks from the IDA, but is required to maintain employment levels in exchange. Clare Rose’s decision to fire its union workforce likely puts the company in violation and the IDA can revoke future subsidies and even demand repayment of past subsidies.
Teamsters Local 812 represents more than 3,500 Teamster families working in the beverage industry. Its members produce, haul, deliver, merchandise, and sell soda, water, beer, and sports drinks throughout the New York metropolitan area.