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Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty Receives Award of Recognition from Teamsters
((BELMAR, N.J.) – On August 15, Teamsters Local 701 presented Belmar, New Jersey Mayor Matt Doherty with its coveted Solidarity Award. The award recognized Mayor Doherty for boldly standing with 113 Teamster members who were locked out by Shore Point Distributing in April and May of this year.
“These aren’t just empty words. Mayor Doherty banned Shore Point from supplying beer to Belmar’s annual Seafood Festival and found a replacement vendor.” said Ernie Soehl, President of Local 701.
“Belmar is a middle-class, working-class community, and I don’t think we should be hosting a company that is locking out middle-class, working-class people from their jobs,” Mayor Doherty said.
Local 701 worked with Doherty as part of a comprehensive community campaign to enlist political and local support in their fight against Shore Point Distributing. Teamsters, their family members and community allies stood outside of liquor stores educating customers about Shore Point’s unreasonable demands for concessions on health benefits and pensions. Local 701 also asked local restaurants, bars and other businesses to put pressure on the company by refusing to sell the MillerCoors products from the company.
It worked: More than 100 stores signed a letter to Shore Point asking the company to end the lockout. Shore Point customers such as Portside Bar & Liquors, Main Street Bar & Grill, Lighthouse Tavern and others posted signs in their windows that read, “No MillerCoors Sold Here Until Shore Point Lockout Ends.” Mayors from Point Pleasant and Brick Township also refused to hire Shore Point as a vendor at festivals. The lockout lasted six weeks, and it ended after the company returned to the bargaining table and workers ratified a contract last June.
“Shore Point’s outrageous tactics were hurting workers, communities and local businesses,” said Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa. “Longtime, loyal employees deserve fair pay, affordable healthcare and a secure retirement for their families. Working people and their friends and neighbors stood together, and they won.”