Even as a brutal heat wave rages on this week, the striking workers at St. Louis’ BreakThru Beverage show no sign of stopping.
The strike at one of St. Louis’ largest wholesale alcohol distributorships is nearing its ninth week, with more than 100 workers participating. A large inflatable Scabby the Rat and an assortment of lawn chairs and tents have become a regular sight in front of the company’s distribution center on Southwest Avenue. Workers are seeking to keep clauses in their contract that allow them to strike on their premises and honor picket lines. They say the company wants to take away those provisions in future contracts and allege unfair labor practices.
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Striking workers come from two locals associated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 688 and Local 600. Local 688 represents warehouse workers, while local 600, formed this past September, is representing the drivers, who are negotiating their first contract with the firm.
When asked what’s kept them going, one joked it was “fluids,” but they say community members and passersby have been quite supportive, too.
“The public support has been fantastic,” says Local 600 president and business representative John Kelting.
Workers man the strike area in shifts of a few hours, corresponding with their regular shifts at the warehouse. Despite the weather—just degrees shy of 100 on Tuesday—spirits are high. A morale boost came Monday when workers from the Chicago-area Teamsters Local 710 came on Monday morning to lend support. BreakThru workers at the Cicero, Illinois, facility went on strike around the same time.
“When people start taking your rights away, that’s when it starts to become a problem,” says Local 710 driver Tony Ortiz.
There is no certainty on when the company and Teamsters will come to an agreement, but the holiday weekend could prove to be a pressure point, workers tell SLM. A spokesperson for the union said in an email Tuesday that both parties are still in “open communication.” In addition to Cicero, there are apparently strikes going on at several locations across the U.S., they say, including Kansas City, Missouri; Champaign, Illinois; and in the states of Delaware, Minnesota, and Arizona. BreakThru’s website lists footprints in 14 states, Washington, and Canada.
“We believe progress is being made in the ongoing negotiations related to the recent labor disputes in St. Louis, Missouri,” a spokesperson for BreakThru said in an email Wednesday. “While additional work remains, we are committed to continuing productive discussion. We appreciate our customers for their patience and understanding during this period, and to all associates who have remained committed to supporting our operations and serving our customers.”
The union’s “Strike and Defense Fund” is paying for “enhanced strike benefits” for the workers during the strike, its spokesperson said.
BreakThru workers say temporary employees have been filling in during the strike, and one speculates that those workers are on a 60-day contract set to expire soon.
When BreakThru acquired St. Louis-based behemoth Major Brands in 2022, the company was Missouri’s largest distributor. It continues to supply a variety of spirits in the region, including Jameson, Jim Beam products, and Fernet, a popular herbal liqueur among service workers. It also is the supplier for the local breweries 4 Hands Brewing Co. and Civil Life Brewing Co.
Some bars say they see a difference with the temp workers. Orders are coming in late and wrong, one person in charge of procuring product for a local bar tells SLM, and another industry insider says the non-union workers have been extending themselves to cover the orders during the strike.
Some businesses have rallied around the union, including South City dive bar CBGB, which pledged not to buy any BreakThru products until the workers get their way. “We support workers we will not order from BreakThru Beverage going forward unless the workers and the union are respected,” a Monday post on the bar’s Facebook page reads. Workers mentioned that Red’s Eight Inning Bar in Carondelet, the South County-based 19th Hole Lounge, and restaurants Uncle Leo’s and Failoni’s also showed them support.
Some say the strike puts bars or other liquor-serving establishments in a complicated position. Opinions in the industry vary, though.
“Since the strike, it became painfully obvious to us that those on strike are the vital glue that holds together the whole operation,” says a South City bartender who declined to be named. The bartender says they went to BreakThru to pick an order in an effort to cut out a non-union delivery driver who was previously late—and brought an incorrect order.
“It’s at that point we started to think if crossing the line is worth carrying the products we—and our own customers—are loyal to,” the bartender continues. “But what about these smaller local breweries who use BreakThru as a distributor? If we stop ordering their product out of solidarity, what happens to them?”
Another source, who asked not to be named but owns a large hospitality group in the area, says some complaints about the strike are overblown. It was initially “tough,” they say, but the management at BreakThru made sure that orders continued, and advised them to make orders of products by the case, not the individual bottle.
They acknowledge, though, that that presents a challenge for smaller businesses: “Most restaurants need a bottle of Jameson, not a case of Jameson.”
They likened the squeeze from BreakThru, one of a handful suppliers for alcohol in the region, to that of COVID, and implored retailers to remain patient. They say, however, that the pressures on supply from the strike are not dire, noting that the alcohol BreakThru supplies is still available in the area: “You’re just talking about product you can go pick up at a grocery store, … It’s not like we can’t get what BreakThru provides us.“
