Employees at Bigfoot Beverages are on day 55 of striking across Oregon in Roseburg, Coos Bay, Newport and Eugene, to protest what they believe is an assault by the company on their retirement benefits.
Bigfoot, a partner of the University of Oregon, distributes brands including Pepsi brands, Pelican Brewing Company, Buoy Beer, Ninkasi Brewing, King Estate Oregon wines and Willamette Valley Vineyard wines.
The union is staging protests at all company locations and even some stores that sell Bigfoot’s products. The Teamsters Union began an unfair labor practices strike against Bigfoot on Sept. 19 after the company announced plans to replace its existing pension program with a 401(k) plan.
“The 401(k) that (Bigfoot) is offering is 9%, which seems generous,” Brayden Penny, a striking worker who spoke to the Daily Emerald on the picket line, said. “But there’s nothing in the contract stating it’s going to be 9% for x amount of years. They could change it to 6% or 3% or whatever in the next couple of years. Plus, the 401(k) is not market-secure.”
Penny also alleges that Bigfoot delayed negotiations for more than seven months and did not offer any back pay.
Economic security in the American economy is a key issue for striking workers.
During the last market crash in 2008, numerous Americans lost their 401(k)s and were unable to retire as planned. “With the pension, we at least have a fixed rate every month and it’s stable, it’s secure,” Rachel Aldrich, another picketing worker, said. “We have people here on the line who were maybe two or three years away from retiring, and this really puts a dent in that.”
Under Bigfoot’s plan, employees vested in the union — which occurs when an employee has worked for five or more years — will retain access to funds in their pension accounts before the switch. But the situation is much more dire for those who are not vested. “Those of us who haven’t been here for five years forfeit all of the money that has gone into our pension funds,” Aldrich said.
Regarding Bigfoot’s response to the strike, Aldrich said their actions speak louder than words.
“On day two or three of the strike, they started replacing us with workers from out of state, flying them in and paying for their hotels and paying them almost double what they pay us to do our jobs.”
As the holiday season approaches, new challenges arise for both Bigfoot and the striking employees. The picketers face the cold and rain of Oregon’s winter, as well as the needs of their families.
Bigfoot faces the reality of a staff on strike during the company’s busiest consumer period of the year.
“The people who make a difference in there are out here,” Penny said.
