Bigfoot Beverages workers represented by Teamsters Local 324 will hit their 200th day on strike on April 6.
Around 240 workers employed by the beverage distributor in Roseburg, Newport, Eugene, Springfield, and Coos Bay went on strike Sept. 19 after the company proposed replacing their pension with a 401(k).
Through the fall, winter, and now into spring, workers have continued picketing daily.
Edwin Powell, a Bigfoot worker on the union bargaining committee, said the number of workers on the picket line has dropped over the months, but a large percentage is still out there.
“We’ve seen a decline, but I don’t think we’ve seen a decline that Bigfoot would want to see,” Powell said.
Teamsters Local 324 secretary-treasurer Chris Muhs said “a large majority” of the union workers are still out on strike.
Since the strike began, Bigfoot has been operating with striker replacements.
On March 29, more than 100 people attended a town hall in Eugene to hear from striking workers and union leaders.
“Seeing that many people show up and be interested and hear what we have to say was pretty motivational,” Powell said.
Jess Rekdahl, a sales representative, said he spent the past 12 years helping Bigfoot grow before going on strike.
“My career, my retirement, and my professional reputation were deeply tied to this company,” Rekdahl said at the town hall. Rekdahl was three years away from taking early retirement with full Teamster pension benefits. Bigfoot’s switch to a 401(k) means his retirement date has been pushed out 15 years, he said.
Muhs said the town hall was organized to counteract misinformation spread by Bigfoot Beverages.
In November, Bigfoot said it would no longer recognize Teamsters Local 324 and Local 206 because a majority of workers said they no longer wanted to be represented by the union. The union says that isn’t true.
Bigfoot hasn’t filed for a union decertification vote, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) records show.
Bigfoot did file unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB in February against Local 324, Local 206, Teamsters Joint Council 37, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network, a Jobs with Justice chapter. Bigfoot alleged the groups engaged in an illegal secondary boycott by picketing neutral employers and directing a boycott campaign against Bigfoot.
The Teamsters consolidated Bigfoot workers under Local 324 in December. Muhs said the change was made in order to have coordinated leadership as the strike continued, but Local 206 is still an active partner.
NLRB records show the union has nine unfair labor practice (ULP) charges pending against Bigfoot, including one from before the strike began. The workers say they’re on an unfair labor practice strike, which means the employer isn’t allowed to permanently replace them.
A resolution from the NLRB is still far away. Muhs said he has an appointment with NLRB staff on April 8 to go over the ULPs filed all the way back in September.
Workers are getting strike pay from the union, which Powell said has helped relieve some of the financial burden.
At the town hall, Rekdahl said his job was fulfilling because of his relationships with customers, coworkers, and suppliers.
“But now some of them have soured, not because of anything we’ve done, but because of the immature, distasteful, and outright disgraceful behavior of Bigfoot owners, managers, salespeople, and even office staff. These so-called professionals have harassed us daily, flipping us off, calling us crybabies, making nasty comments as they pass, mockingly waving, blowing kisses,” Rekdahl said.
Some supporters want scabs and Bigfoot owners Eric Forrest and Andy Moore to feel a bit of the discomfort that striking workers have experienced.
Lonnie Douglas, a volunteer organizer with Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network, said union allies have conducted an “accountability campaign” to put pressure on Forrest and Moore, taking actions like crashing Bigfoot’s tailgate party outside of a Ducks football game and delivering letters to Umpqua Bank and Summit Bank, where Forrest and Moore sit on the boards.
“Aside from boycotting and putting financial pressure on Bigfoot, we need to put social pressure on these individuals that are ruining our community,” Douglas said.
At boycottbigfoot.now, consumers can find a list of drinks distributed by Bigfoot in Coos Bay, Eugene, Newport, Roseburg, Springfield, Bend, and Corvallis. The long list includes Pepsi products, canned and bottled Starbucks drinks, Gatorade, Rockstar energy drinks, and many more. The website, created by the Eugene chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, also includes a list of businesses that have committed to supporting the striking workers.
