CLC Endorses Consumer Boycott of Labatt Imports

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 15, 2013) - The Canadian Labour Congress has endorsed a national consumer boycott against a number of imported brands of Labatt beer and is calling on the company to return to the bargaining table.

"This is a David and Goliath struggle between about 50 local workers and the world's largest multi-national brewing corporation trying to force its employees into a race to the bottom," says CLC President Ken Georgetti. "Canadian workers and their unions are not going to stand idly by and allow this to happen."

The workers in St. John's have been on strike since April 10. They are members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public Employees (NAPE/NUPGE). Their employer is the Canadian division of the Anheuser-Busch InBev brewing corporation, which has after-tax profits of more than $9 billion.

"This multi-national company is trying in St. John's to impose concessions and roll-backs on its employees which would establish a precedent for its other unionized workers across the globe," says Georgetti. "We can't allow them to get away with that."

The national consumer boycott was requested by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), the national union to which the striking workers belong. The Labatt imports being targeted for boycott include Stella Artois, Becks, and Lowenbrau. The focus is on imported products in order to prevent other unionized Labatt employees in Canada from experiencing a loss of work.

In Newfoundland and Labrador people are also being urged to boycott a number of other Labatt beers, including Budweiser, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's and Kokanee.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils.

Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca

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