Goodnight Mr. Lewis: Labor Strikes Threaten Booze Supply

Congrats to Steve Lewis for being named Best Nightlife Blog by the Village Voice!

On Halloween night, I will be on stage in my traditional, old, fat Elvis suit judging the costume contest at Webster Hall. When the clock strikes midnight, I'll be making a fool of myself while two major liquor distributors will most likely be struck by unions, according to an insider who knows such things. Truck and clerical unions will strike at Southern and Empire (formerly Peerless and Charmer). The sales force will also join the strike at Empire. Southern handles brands such as Patron, Absolut, Stoli, and Beefeater, while Empire distributes Grey Goose, Cuervo, Johnny Walker, Kettel One, Hennessy, etc.

Every three years this happens. Contracts expire, and the usual bickering commences involving pay or benefits. Some years the unions want more than they have; some years owners want to make cuts. Sometimes the strikes are merely symbolic, but sometimes they last weeks. They almost always end before Thanksgiving—the traditional start of the holiday season—and the stakes become high enough to make stubbornness a losing proposition. Thus Thanksgiving is the annual line in the sand. The clubs can’t stock more than a couple of weeks’ worth of booze; they usually don’t have extra space. Salesmen are out there, as I write this, pressuring cash-starved clubs to stockpile lest they run short come the shutdown. It indeed may be true and the clubs, restaurants, and stores—dependent on holiday loot to get them through the winter—have little choice but to play along.

The unions and owners of the distribution companies are playing a game of chicken. My source tells me “they’re just seeing who is going to blink first.” This year may be different than in the past; I’m told that when Empire was two different companies (Charmer and Peerless), “those who pulled the unions’ strings usually settled these matters out of court.” The merger creates confusion, and I’m told the result “could be a long strike.” Another factor is the loss of house brand liquor distributor Paramount. They aren’t there to fill in the gaps during a strike as they always have been in the past. After all, house vodka is better than no vodka at all. This means venues will be putting more pressure on the distributors to cave in to union demands and get the booze flowing. My source reveals that “Southern is considering a me-too agreement” with Empire. As Empire goes, so shall they. While this might be a little shady, it may serve to settle things earlier, which keeps everyone happier in the long run.