Interstate Bakeries Strike; North East Shutdowns Spread to Buffalo

By Bob Sperber

A Teamsters strike in the Northeast United States hit Interstate bakeries over the weekend after Teamsters claimed last Wednesday Mar. 14 that the company did not honor arbitration rulings at its plant in Biddeford, ME.

The strike has affected shipments across the Northeast, causing shortages of Wonder Bread, Twinkies and other Interstate products. The Biddeford bakery manufactures bakery products carrying the brands J.J. Nissen, Wonder Bread, Hostess and Drake's Cakes.

On Friday, picketing caused a shutdown Thursday evening at the companies Wayne, NJ, Drake's snack cake bakery. The New Jersey workers returned to their jobs on Friday, but the plant remains closed due to Teamsters drivers' refusal to distribute the product.

The Wayne shutdown was followed by closing at the Jamaica, Queens (New York City) Wonder Bread plant and another in Philadelphia.

Picketing began in Buffalo at 4:30 a.m. today, Tuesday.

Thousands of employees are affected—including an estimated 3,000 in Philadelphia, New York and Buffalo.

"In round numbers, there are 1,400 teamsters involved in New England alone," Mark Dirkes, senior vice president of marketing at Interstate Bakeries in Kansas City, MO. Dirkes told Bakery Online that in addition to the striking Teamsters—who represent outside route drivers, sales representatives, shippers and receivers—there are approximately 400 union production workers at each of the plants in Biddeford, Wayne, and Jamaica.

The strike stems from a disagreement over the Teamsters' choice in arbitrators following a labor dispute.

Bakery Online will provide background information on the cause of the strike, with comments from both labor and management, in a follow-up news article.