Labor unions may be losing power nationally, but they remain a strong presence locally, as a brewing dispute over beer delivery in the Ocean State illustrates.
Teamsters Local 251 is challenging the sale of Cranston-based McLaughlin & Moran Inc. to Mancini Beverage, claiming it would create a near monopoly on beer distribution in the state. The union, which represents most employees at Mancini, has presented a petition with the names of dozens of business owners and managers to the state attorney general’s office, asking for an investigation of antitrust violations.
West Greenwich-based Mancini naturally refutes the notion it would have anything approaching a monopoly, citing a growing local craft beer market.
Rhode Island in 2019 had the highest union representation rate in New England and the fourth highest in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If nothing else, the public attention raised by the Teamsters’ opposition to the pending sale will ensure it isn’t rubber stamped by regulators. And that’s in the best interests of not only the union but all Rhode Islanders.