US Foods Strikes Continue With Sympathy From Denver Workers
By Jeff Todd
DENVER (CBS4)- The second largest food distributor in the country is having worker issues and on Thursday a sympathy strike started for union workers at US Foods facility in Englewood.
"The effect will start tomorrow. We deliver to hospitals, schools, restaurants, anywhere the general public can go out and have a meal," said Mark Madsen, an employee at US Foods and member of the local Teamsters.
A strike started near Baltimore about a month ago when the company asked for millions of dollars' worth of benefits back from union workers or threatened to shut down the distribution center and move it to another state.
"In order to support our fellow teamsters we're willing to make the sacrifice now in the hopes that in the future it won't come to Denver," Madsen said. "We need to protect the middle class working people."
US Foods told CBS 4 in a statement: "Union-represented employees at our Severn, Maryland location are on strike regarding the company's plans to close our distribution center there. As a show of support, union-represented employees at our US Foods facility in Denver are conducting a sympathy strike. Right now our focus is continuing to provide our customers with the products they need and the service they expect. We have contingency plans in place and are working to minimize any disruptions that may occur."
The facility in Englewood is still operating but with less staff. Two hundred and eighty union members walked off the job Thursday, almost half of the employees.
Madsen said the timing was chosen to cause the least interruption to customers. Many schools have enough food to finish the year this week.
Several restaurants told CBS 4 they aren't concerned with the strike and stocked up ahead of time. They all said the hope is the sympathy picket won't last more than a few days.
"I don't know how long it could last it could be a few days it could be a few weeks," said Madsen
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
