The walkout would affect a host of restaurants in the market, including local units of The Cheesecake Factory, Jersey Mike’s, Jimmy John’s, Pappas Restaurants and the Buc-ee’s c-store chain, according to the local Teamsters chapter planning the strike.

Restaurants in the Houston area could see a disruption in supplies over the holidays if employees of the Sysco distribution warehouse serving the market make good on a threat to strike because of stalled contract negotiations.

The 430 drivers, warehouse “pickers” and fleet-maintenance personnel authorized their union, Teamsters Local 988, to call a strike if the distribution giant doesn’t grant the concessions they’re demanding.

“Nothing our members are demanding is unreasonable,” Robert Mele, president of the local, said in announcing the strike vote. “These workers want what everyone in this country deserves: fair wages, quality health care, and a secure retirement.”

“We don’t want to strike, but if Sysco forces us onto the picket lines, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves,” declared Charles Adams, a driver and the shop steward of Local 988.

Sysco disagreed with the union’s characterization of the negotiations. In a statement issued to Restaurant Business, a spokesperson asserted, “Sysco is committed to good-faith negotiations with the goal of providing our colleagues fair wages and benefits that show our appreciation and respect for their hard work and dedication while also balancing the company’s business needs. The current contract doesn’t expire until January 17, and we will continue to negotiate until we reach an agreement that is agreeable to both sides.”

But, he added, “That said, we have robust contingency plans to ensure we can continue to serve our community and our valued customers.”

The union specifically mentioned The Cheesecake Factory, Jersey Mike’s, Jimmy John’s, Pappas Restaurants’ brands and the Buc-ee’s chain of oversized c-stores as chain operations that would be immediately affected by a strike.

The walkout would also presumably affect many of the Houston market’s independent restaurants and noncommercial facilities. The city’s restaurant scene has been booming, according to locals, leading to a decision this year by the Michelin dining guide to publish an edition for the metropolis.

Other markets could be affected if sister Teamster chapters walk out in support of their Houston colleagues. Last year, a strike called by locals in Louisville, Kentucky, and Indianapolis spread to 1,000 Sysco workers across the country, according to Teamsters. The workers who walked out in sympathy included employees of Sysco facilities in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, the union said.

The job action lasted for two weeks, though local operators said the walkouts were intermittent.

Teamsters’ national office said the strikes were the leverage needed to get a 20% immediate wage hike for the striking workers in Louisville and a 23% raise over the length of a five-year contract for their colleagues in Indianapolis.

In addition, according to the union, management agreed to improve workplace conditions, grant Martin Luther King Day as a day off and cap employees’ weekly hours. The latter concession was the result of complaints that Sysco was over-scheduling workers because it couldn’t recruit a large enough workforce to handle all that needed to be done.

Sysco, the industry’s largest broadline distributor, is based in Houston.

Thursday’s strike vote was the latest sign of increasing labor strife within the restaurant industry. On the same day, Starbucks Workers United announced that members working in Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago were walking off their jobs at least until Christmas Eve. The group had ended what it termed fruitless contract negotiations with Starbucks management two days beforehand.

Workers at seven of Amazon’s delivery hubs went on strike Friday. The e-commerce giant has become a major source of supplies for restaurants as well as the world’s largest retailer.

Source https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/workforce/sysco-employees-say-theyre-set-strike-houston-possibly-elsewhere

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