By Alexander Dworkowitz
Workers at the Canada Dry factory in Maspeth returned to work this week after a weeklong strike under a tentative deal that sent Pepsi Cola employees who refused to cross picket lines at their sister company in College Point back to their jobs.
The Canada Dry Bottling Co. of New York and the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of New York share the same owner.
At the stroke of midnight on May 19, the 185 employees of Canada Dry Bottling Company of New York went on strike at the company's two distribution centers in Maspeth and Melville, L.I. Some of the Maspeth workers picketed the College Point plant.
The strike led to a virtual shutdown of the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company's factory on 15th Avenue in College Point.
Even though the workers at the College Point factory were not on strike, they elected not to show up for work in support of their fellow members of the Local 812 Soft Drink and Brewery Workers Union.
Both Canada Dry and Pepsi bottling companies are owned by Harold Honicken, said Joe Wojciechowski, vice president of 812. Pepsi was headquartered in Long Island City up until last year, when it moved its operations to College Point.
Wojciechowski said a tentative deal was reached between Canada Dry and the union Monday afternoon, and the union employees returned to work at both College Point and Maspeth Tuesday.
Wojciechowski said he could not discuss the details of the agreement.
“[Honicken] did pay the health care, which he said he wouldn't, and he did pay the wages that he said he wouldn't,” Wojciechowski said.
Wojciechowski said the workers would vote on the deal Friday, and he expected the agreement to pass easily.
Officials at the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of New York did not return phone calls for comment.
The College Point facility is the largest Pepsi factory in the city, home to both manufacturing and distribution. The Maspeth and Melville factories are distribution centers for both Pepsi and Canada Dry.
Before the strike ended, workers at the College Point Pepsi plant said they had decided not to cross the picket lines because they worried about what would happen when their contract expires in 2006.
“We're supporting Canada Dry because they're probably going to do the same thing when our contract is up,” said Rich Keating, a Whitestone resident who works at the College Point factory who was outside the facility last Thursday morning.
During the Maspeth strike, the workers at the College Point plant were unhappy about the rainy weather. They hoped hot temperatures would drive thirsty consumers to drink up the supply of Pepsi products already on shelves in the metropolitan area.
Sam Aniano, a shop steward at the Melville plant and member of the Local 812's negotiating committee, said last Thursday the labor action had an impact on College Point.
“The economy in College Point is being affected,” Aniano said. “Pepsi is the primary guy in the neighborhood. They employ a lot of people.”
Fred Mazzarello, president of the College Point Board of Trade, said he had not heard of any complaints from business owners, but he could imagine that the labor action was hurting local restaurants.
“In these days, a tough economy, you feel it,” he said.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 141.
