Thursday, July 2, 2015

Celebrate the Teamster way on the Fourth!

On Saturday, Americans will celebrate our nation's independence. And it only makes sense to do so with products that are not only made in America, but made by Teamsters.

Need to fill the fridge for a barbecue? Support your brothers and sisters who work at Costco if there's one near you. Many Costcos are represented by Teamsters. The company pays all of its employees an average of $17 an hour; CEO Jim Sinegal believes paying workers well is good business.

The summer's top cookout event demands beer, and Teamsters make (and deliver) a lot of it. Teamsters make such refreshing brews as Labatt's Blue, Beck's, Coors Light, Molson Ice, Miller Lite and the King of Beers, Budweiser. Our brothers and sisters also brew up tasty beverages at smaller breweries, Dundee Craft Beer and Genesee Brewery.

Is wine more your thing? If so, take a sip from a Woodbridge Winery offering, which employs workers who recently joined the Teamster family earlier this year.

Ice cream is another requirement for the Fourth of July, and tens of thousands of Teamsters work for American dairies. If you live on the West Coast, look for Darigold dairy products or Tillamook cheese and ice cream for that July 4th picnic. Alta Dena is another Teamster-represented dairy in California and Arizona that makes about a dozen different ice cream products.

Teamsters who live along the East Coast from Pennsylvania to Florida are probably more familiar with WAWA, a convenience store chain that started as a dairy and is a Teamster-represented employer.  WAWA makes premier ice cream from classic vanilla or chocolate to chocolate peanut butter cup or mint chocolate chip.

Another Teamster employer, Dean Foods, has more than 50 brands, including Country Fresh ice cream in Wisconsin and Michigan; Berkeley Farms ice cream in California; Country Love, Broughton and Ben and Jerry's in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia. Click here to find out what Dean products are near you.

Teamster employer Prairie Farms sells dairy products in 14 Midwestern states, including Prairie Farms ice cream, sherbet and frozen yogurt.  Kemps Dairy in Wisconsin and Minnesota makes a wide variety of ice cream, including Green Bay Packer Salted Caramel Frozen Tundra Twist!

Not every Teamster-represented product is mentioned here. But buy union and supporter workers on this most American of holidays.