It’s been one year since workers at the Oregon-based drinks distributor Bigfoot Beverages went on strike, and some picketers are still on the line today.
On Thursday, the union held a barbeque outside the Bigfoot facility off of McVay Highway near Eugene, in order to commemorate the anniversary.
"We're still asking people to boycott Bigfoot and their products—not just Pepsi, but all their other products," said Darrin Wilson, a business agent with the Teamsters. "Hopefully we'll get some more community support and get these guys back to work, which is what they want to do.”
The workers started their strike last September, seeking a contract that would retain their pension plan, rather than transitioning to a 401(k).
In April, the union offered Bigfoot an unconditional return to work, without securing the pensions. But the company said it’d replaced the workers and wouldn't give them their jobs back, prompting the union to declare a “lockout.”
Today, Wilson said some employees have since taken non-union jobs at the company, or found positions elsewhere. But he said many of them are still holding out, with ongoing financial support from the Teamsters.
Lance Johnson, who was working in sales for Bigfoot in Newport, said he hasn't been offered an option to return to Bigfoot, even in a non-union position. But he said he also hasn't been formally terminated.
"I'm just riding the storm out, and hopefully it works out to where we get to go back to work," said Johnson. "I'm actually shocked it's been a year."
In an email to KLCC Thursday, a Bigfoot spokesperson said the company is now fully staffed, and its team has grown over the past year.
"Bigfoot continues to serve the community and hire workers as needed who were put on the preferential hiring list when positions are open in their classification," said the spokesperson.
The National Labor Relations Board
Wilson said he’s hopeful the National Labor Relations Board will still step in and resolve the lockout.
In May, the NLRB dismissed Bigfoot’s charges against the union and the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network. But it hasn’t yet ruled on the union’s 15 charges against the company.
According to the NLRB, a company can decline to give a filled position back to a returning picketer if their strike was for economic reasons—like contract negotiations. In most cases, those workers can't be discharged, and can request to be given open positions if they don't find another job.
However, workers on strike over an Unfair Labor Practice charge have greater protections under federal regulations. According to the NLRB, an employer has to offer them their position back, barring serious misconduct.
The Teamsters have argued the strike at Bigfoot became an unfair labor-related action after the company stopped recognizing the union, which the workers said was illegal.
Bigfoot representatives have said it pulled recognition following a petition from workers. But it hasn’t provided KLCC with evidence of a unit-wide decertification vote, which is a legally part of the process to disband a union—and union representatives claim it never happened.
