Update: Teamsters Local 812 union members at Clare Rose voted in favor of a new contract with the East Yaphank beer distributor on Saturday, ending a nearly three-months-long strike.
The contract, which preserves the union employees’ pensions, was approved by a vote of 83 in favor and 12 opposed.
95 of the 117 eligible union workers casted votes, according to sources.
The workers will return to work Monday. As of 12:30 p.m., temporary replacement drivers and warehouse were given 72 hours to leave the job.
Original post: Teamsters Local 812 issued a statement Thursday saying its members at Clare Rose would be returning to work with their pensions intact after a months-long strike against the distributor.
The contract guarantees that Clare Rose will continue contributions to the workers’ pension plan, reversing the company’s withdrawal from the pension that precipitated the strike …, reads the announcement.
Members will vote to ratify the agreement Saturday.
“We are all thrilled,” said Mark Pooler, who has been a driver at Clare Rose for 26 years. “We won and we saved our pensions. Now we are ready to get back to work.”
Clare Rose’s chief executive, Sean Rose, told Newsday early Friday the union and company “feel confident [the tentative contract] will be ratified.”
Clare Rose, now based in East Yaphank, opened in 1936 on West Main Street in Patchogue, where it stayed for decades, according to a history timeline on the distributor’s website.
The company is the distributor of Anheuser-Busch, makers of Budweiser, Bud Light and the owners of Blue Point Brewing Company. Clare Rose also distributes for Long Island’s largest craft brewers: Greenport, Long Ireland, Port Jeff, and Great South Bay.
