KEZI / Aaron Arellano / Apr 29, 2025
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EUGENE, Ore. – Local Teamsters — after more than 200 days on strike — are reacting to a recent announcement from Bigfoot Beverages that the business is committed to keeping the workers hired to replace Teamsters while they were on strike.
“When Teamsters Locals 206 and 324, took employees out on a lengthy strike, Bigfoot Beverages, in order to continue operating and serving the greater Eugene community, and as allowed by law, hired team members to permanently replace those who were on strike,” said Anne Marie Levis, a PR spokesperson for the company in a written statement issued on April 24.
The Teamsters offered an unconditional return to work for those on strike, but Bigfoot Beverages said they will not displace current team members in the process.
Bigfoot said Teamsters can return to work if they request to be placed on a preferential hiring list and if there is an opening in their job classification.
Local Teamsters claim this is illegal. In a joint statement from Jeff Padellaro, Director of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference, and Chris Muhs, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 324, regarding Bigfoot Beverages’s alleged “illegal lockout” of its workers, they said in part:
“Bigfoot Beverages is refusing to allow Teamsters to return to work after they concluded an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike.
Teamsters at Bigfoot Beverages have been exercising their rights on the picket line. This greedy, abusive company is violating the law. Employers cannot permanently replace workers who engage in an unfair labor practice strike.
Bigfoot’s executives have shown throughout this strike that they are cowards who are willing to sell out their workers and disrupt the lives of hardworking Oregon families.
The Teamsters Union is proud to serve as the exclusive collective bargaining representative for Bigfoot workers and we will continue to support our members during this lockout. We will be filing more charges to contest this shameful lockout, and we will never stop our fight for a fair contract.”
On April 28, Teamsters were back to picketing in front of Bigfoot Beverages headquarters in Eugene after taking a few days to regroup after the end of the strike. When they returned, an allegedly newly-established property line was spray painted in their usual picketing spot, along with no trespassing signs.
According to a report logged by Oregon State Police, troopers responded to the business after hearing a complaint of trespassing. OSP said troopers advised Teamsters union members they were trespassing, and reminded them of the property boundaries. The Teamsters left the area without further incident.
Edwin Powell is a strike captain and was a driver for Bigfoot Beverages, he said they are working to see if the spray painted boundaries are legal, as they push picketers closer towards the busy McVay highway.
“We’ve been out here for 220 days and we’ve been on this whole property. So as soon as we pack up and leave to show good faith that we’re trying to meet with the company and we’re trying to bargain, they come out and they establish this fake property line,” he said on April 29. “Kind of shameful that Bigfoot is willing to put us this close to the highway.”
Powell said union members were not surprised to see Bigfoot’s commitment to the replacement workers.
“They had to cut down on a lot of their workforce. So it wasn’t a shocker,” he said. “They don’t want the union. It’s not about our retirement or any of this or that. They just purely don’t want a union that doesn’t cost them any financial burden now.”
In the April 24 statement, Levis said Bigfoot viewed their replacement team members as those who “showed remarkable courage and resilience during the strike despite racial and homophobic harassment by union picketers and threats by union picketers to report law-abiding minority workers to immigration enforcement authorities.”
Powell strongly condemned the allegations.
“That’s probably the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard in my life. I mean, if you go and talk to some of our guys, nobody here is racist or homophobic. We have plenty of people on this line who Bigfoot is throwing out intentionally, who are Hispanic, Black, White, Asian, gay, straight. It doesn’t matter,” Powell said. “Bigfoot trying to push this narrative that we’re being anti-Semitic and all this is honestly beyond everything the most disrespectful stuff they could do to us. Throwing us out, taking our pension away is one thing, but attacking everybody’s character out here and what they stand for is beyond unacceptable.”
Bigfoot filed a lawsuit with Lane County Circuit Court as a result of the union’s “alleged unlawful behavior.”
One Teamster, a former sales representative for Bigfoot Beverages who wished to remain anonymous, said their retirement got pushed back 15 years as a result of Bigfoot opting for a 401k plan for employees instead of the pension. He said the atmosphere on the picket line has changed over the past few days.
He said that with Bigfoot’s commitment to the replacement workers, there is a lot of uncertainty on how or when or if he’ll get his job back.
Although the striking members receive weekly strike pay from the Teamsters union, members like him say it’s a noticeable pay cut compared to his old job in sales while working for Bigfoot Beverages.
It’s this reality that can be stressful for him and his family especially during an uncertain economy, he said.
“We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. We’re going to advocate for pushing the boycott on Bigfoot, stop buying their products, vote with your wallet. I mean, our community has been nothing but tremendously supportive of us by doing that. And we’ve definitely been brought up from Bigfoot that what we’re doing is affecting them,” Powell said.
When pressed about members of the community who criticize the union members, Powell said people need to dig deeper on the issues at hand.
“I spend some time in the comment threads. I see what they’re saying. And you can tell they’re not even clicking on the articles. You can tell they’re not even reading. You can tell a lot of them have never even worked a union job. They can’t even really explain to you what a pension is,” he said. “So what I got to say about that is you know you’re misinformed and maybe you should educate yourself on the matter before you speak.”
While they continue to advocate for their jobs back, Bigfoot Beverages is celebrating the hard work from current employees.
“Our team members have been and remain our greatest asset and competitive advantage,” said Bigfoot Beverages Co-Presidents Eric Forrest and Andy Moore. “We owe it to them to ensure that their workplace is safe, welcoming, and reflects the values that we work hard to model. As a locally owned company with deep ties to the communities it serves, we are proud that our workforce has taken steps to better reflect those communities.”
The April 24 statement said the company is providing employees with “industry leading wages and benefits, including the 15% to 20% wage increases and 9% 401k employer contribution which the unions refused to take to their members prior to striking. Today, team members working at Bigfoot Beverages make $3 to $5 more per hour than employees at its closest competitors.”
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