Smashin Sue - Teamsters Local 25

L to R: Joe Carroll, Don LeBeau, John Rufo, Jack Lydon, and Jeff Quigley.
U.S. FOODSERVICE Closes in Everett,
Mass., but Local 25 Fights It All the Way
Joe Cheever
In the middle of contract negotiations in March 2011, U.S.
Foodservice notified Teamsters Local 25 that the company
made a decision to close its Everett, Mass. facility. The company
claims that they were not making enough money to sustain
the unionized facility. Local 25 believes it was a clear-cut case of
union busting.
“The private equity firms that control U.S. Foods (Clayton,
Dubilier & Rice, Inc. (CD&R) and Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.) simply felt it
should not have to pay our members a good
wage and benefit package anymore,” said
Sean M. O’Brien, President and Principal
Officer of Teamsters Local 25. “The company
felt that there were enough people out
of work who would take a pay cut to work
for them in Connecticut. This plays into the
theme of corporate America in 2011, and
that is a shame.”
After a strategic corporate campaign
effort of leafleting U.S. Foodservice customers
at Pizzeria Uno, Hilton Hotels, Marriot
Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, Johnny Rockets,
Fire + Ice Restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes Pizza,
Taste of the Town, and Acapulco’s restaurants,
U.S. Foodservice agreed to the Teamsters Local
25 proposed severance plan.
“As far as the contents of the severance package
are concerned, I cannot comment publicly
due to the agreement with the company and Local
25,” O’Brien said. “I will say that the membership
6 | The SPOKESMAN | SUMMER 2011 | www.teamsterslocal25.com
L to R: Ron Bonier,
Helen Giglio, Billy Reno