Dr Pepper Files Baseless ULP Charges with Labor Board
On Thursday, April 18, the American Bottling Company, a subsidiary of Keurig Dr Pepper, filed three baseless unfair labor practice charges with the Labor Board against Teamsters Local 727. Rather than focus its efforts on reaching a fair agreement with the Union before the current Inside contract expires on April 30, Dr Pepper has wasted precious time and untold dollars on lawyers to file ULP charges that have no merit and no basis in reality.
In fact, one of the ULP charges filed by Dr Pepper alleges that Local 727 has refused to provide the Company with information regarding the Union’s health care plan; however, this request and subsequent charge seem to be in bad faith as Dr Pepper representatives have said, in no uncertain terms, that the Company will never agree to Local 727’s 100% employer-paid health care plan.
“Last summer, Dr Pepper’s bad faith behavior forced Outside workers to the ULP strike line for 40 days, yet the Company never once filed ULP charges against the Union. These baseless charges are a new act of desperation that reveals just how fearful Dr Pepper is of our Union’s solidarity and power,” said John Coli, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727.
Unlike the unfounded charges filed by Dr Pepper last week, Local 727 has filed multiple justifiable ULP charges against the Company over the past several weeks as a result of Dr Pepper’s unlawful unilateral changes to health care and retaliatory use of third-party non-union workers to perform bargaining unit work.
While the Union’s aforementioned charges and recent request for injunctive relief against Dr Pepper are still pending with Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board, the Labor Board did find merit in January with a ULP charge filed last year by Local 727 against Dr Pepper over the Company’s refusal and delay in providing the Union with information. As a result of the NLRB’s merit-finding conclusion, Dr Pepper was forced to post a notice informing employees that it would no longer violate federal labor law.
“It seems Dr Pepper has not learned its lesson,” added Coli. “With each day that goes by the Company seems to be less and less focused on reaching an agreement. If Dr Pepper does not get its act together soon, I don’t see how we reach an agreement before the contract expires.”
Members with questions should contact Caleen Carter-Patton at (847) 696-7500 or [email protected].
Nothing in this article should be read as the union’s waiver of any legal argument, position or additional grievance. The union does not forfeit its right to make any and all supplemental arguments.
Category: BEVERAGE
