Liquor Industry Labor Relations

The AFL-CIO ended its contentious 10-year boycott of Coors beer Wednesday, announcing an agreement that for the first time will require the company to allow an expedited union vote at its main Colorado brewery and to employ union workers at any new Coors facility. AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland, claiming victory in the agreement with the last major non-union beer company, declared the nationwide boycott "a complete success, a resounding success."

Simon Levi Co., a Carson-based firm with a 115-year business record, has closed its wholesale liquor distributorship and eliminated 275 jobs. Levi, which has distributed leading distilled spirits in Southern California since 1934, officially eliminated that operation Friday. The company, which evolved from 1870s-era general store operations in Temecula and San Diego, will continue to own and sell a line of wines and beer. The firm eliminated its food operations in 1952.

Workers at a brewery that makes Corona beer here have vowed to continue their fight for an independent union, as government arbitrators weigh the claims of a union affiliated with Mexico's major labor federation and those of the rival group. Gathered late Thursday at the Modelo Brewery, under a 10-story-high, crown-shaped sign that reads "Corona," workers shouted their support for the rival group, which is leading a sometimes-violent 45-day-old strike.

Workers at the Adolph Coors Co. in Golden, Colo., overwhelmingly rejected a plan to bring organized labor back to the brewery after a 10-year absence. Teamsters Union officials said Coors employees voted 1,081 to 413 against joining their union. "We're delighted that our employees have decided that third-party representation is not needed at Coors," Peter Coors, president of the brewery, said in a statement.

The Teamsters' game plan is to get 30% of the 3,400 workers at the Adolph Coors Co. brewery to sign cards authorizing the union to seek an election handled by the National Labor Relations Board. If the Teamsters union wins a simple majority at the secret ballot election, the union would gain representation rights. Coors workers haven't had union representation in 10 years, since Brewery Workers Local 366 struck Coors in 1977. Coors, headquartered in Golden, Colo.

For years, the alleged inefficiency and relatively high wages and benefits of American workers were repeatedly cited by auto makers and financial analysts as key factors in the decline of the auto industry in this country. But the experience of foreign manufacturers operating plants here clearly shows that the denigration of Americans as rather sloppy, costly workers was unfair. The reasoning behind the recent far-reaching corporate decisions of Toyota and Volkswagen make the point nicely.

Perhaps labor's 10-year boycott against the Adolph Coors Co. was called off prematurely last August, when the AFL-CIO signed a peace treaty with Coors that was seen as a major victory against one of the nation's most virulently anti-union companies. Coors recently maneuvered to frustrate efforts to unionize its brewery workers, even though the massive boycott forced the firm to promise that it would not wage an all-out campaign to keep itself non-union.

Workers at a brewery that makes Corona beer here have vowed to continue their fight for an independent union, as government arbitrators weigh the claims of a union affiliated with Mexico's major labor federation and those of the rival group. Gathered late Thursday at the Modelo Brewery, under a 10-story-high, crown-shaped sign that reads "Corona," workers shouted their support for the rival group, which is leading a sometimes-violent 45-day-old strike.

Workers at the Adolph Coors Co. in Golden, Colo., overwhelmingly rejected a plan to bring organized labor back to the brewery after a 10-year absence. Teamsters Union officials said Coors employees voted 1,081 to 413 against joining their union. "We're delighted that our employees have decided that third-party representation is not needed at Coors," Peter Coors, president of the brewery, said in a statement.

Simon Levi Co., a Carson-based firm with a 115-year business record, has closed its wholesale liquor distributorship and eliminated 275 jobs. Levi, which has distributed leading distilled spirits in Southern California since 1934, officially eliminated that operation Friday. The company, which evolved from 1870s-era general store operations in Temecula and San Diego, will continue to own and sell a line of wines and beer. The firm eliminated its food operations in 1952.

Perhaps labor's 10-year boycott against the Adolph Coors Co. was called off prematurely last August, when the AFL-CIO signed a peace treaty with Coors that was seen as a major victory against one of the nation's most virulently anti-union companies. Coors recently maneuvered to frustrate efforts to unionize its brewery workers, even though the massive boycott forced the firm to promise that it would not wage an all-out campaign to keep itself non-union.

For years, the alleged inefficiency and relatively high wages and benefits of American workers were repeatedly cited by auto makers and financial analysts as key factors in the decline of the auto industry in this country. But the experience of foreign manufacturers operating plants here clearly shows that the denigration of Americans as rather sloppy, costly workers was unfair. The reasoning behind the recent far-reaching corporate decisions of Toyota and Volkswagen make the point nicely.

The AFL-CIO won a major but not total victory last week in its 10-year war with the Adolph Coors Co. A final victory is almost sure to come soon, when Coors workers vote on union representation. Even so, what already has occurred is a stunning success for the nationwide Coors boycott that was staged by labor.

The AFL-CIO ended its contentious 10-year boycott of Coors beer Wednesday, announcing an agreement that for the first time will require the company to allow an expedited union vote at its main Colorado brewery and to employ union workers at any new Coors facility. AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland, claiming victory in the agreement with the last major non-union beer company, declared the nationwide boycott "a complete success, a resounding success."