Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza has joined three dozen other New York brands in a boycott that is sweeping New York City store shelves clean of Anheuser-Busch brands.
The action is being taken against beverage distributor Clare Rose and one of its product suppliers, Anheuser-Busch, in a show of support for Teamsters Union 812 workers at Clare Rose, according to a union news release. The pizza chain has eight Long Island locations and a total of 68 rooftops nationwide.
Workers at Clare Rose say they have been on strike for nearly two months after their employer ended their pensions and cut their wages 30 percent. The company is a major distributor for a variety of alcoholic beverages to restaurants, bars and other businesses.
The teamsters said that after less than a day on the picket line, they received letters from Clare Rose advising them that they would be permanently replaced.
“Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza’s Long Island locations are boycotting Clare Rose and Anheuser-Busch products because of how the company has treated its workers,” owner Anthony Bruno said in the release. “It’s not acceptable to cut wages and pensions, then fire your workers when they stand up for themselves. I know that my restaurants are only successful because of the support we get from our community. When our community needs our support, we are there for them, too.”
With nearly 40 food and beverage service businesses now supporting the boycott, both Clare Rose and Anheuser-Busch have had a New York-sized bite taken out of their business in the Big Apple, the release said.
Even the famous Belmont Park horse-racing track has joined the action. The park switched beer distributors just before the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, resulting in the overnight transformation of the Budweiser Food Truck Village into the Coors Light Food Truck Village.
