Orlando city commissioners have signed off on a proposal to enter into a three-year contract with BlueTriton Brands, a bottled water company and producer of popular water brands that was accused last fall of unlawfully obstructing efforts by local delivery drivers to unionize with the Teamsters.
Under the publicly funded contract, approved by city leaders Monday, BlueTriton Brands will provide select city departments and buildings with bottled water, water coolers, other related goods and delivery services over the next three years.The agreement earmarks $292,221 for the provision of services over this term, beginning with an initial $97,407 in funds for water bottles and filters the first fiscal year.
A request for proposals was first issued for the project on Jan. 24, and the city’s procurement division selected BlueTriton, a former Nestle subsidiary acquired by private equity, as its preferred contractor in late March.
The city's agreement with BlueTriton was on the city commission's consent agenda, which is generally reserved for non-controversial, routine items that aren't expected to require much, if any discussion.
Ashley Papagni, a city spokesperson, told Orlando Weekly BlueTriton was the only applicant for the proposal, and the city “was not aware of the company’s involvement with any unfair labor practices,” ahead of city leaders’ approval of the contract Monday afternoon.
Orlando Weekly asked if the city had any standards or guidelines for the request for proposals process that consider a history of alleged violations of labor law or a company's treatment of its employees. We did not receive a response to this as of time of publication.
BlueTriton Brands, producer of water brands such as Zephyrhills and Poland Spring, is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, but operates in at least 120 communities across the U.S., according to its website, with more than 900 employees in Florida.
In Davenport, a small city southwest of Orlando, drivers for BlueTriton’s bottled water delivery service, ReadyRefresh, shared their intent to unionize with the Teamsters Local 79 last year. The Teamsters is a labor union that represents roughly 1.3 million workers, including thousands of delivery drivers, mechanics, warehouse workers, and public employees throughout Florida.
According to Teamsters Local 79, however, BlueTriton fought the organizing attempt among their ReadyRefresh drivers in Davenport, who filed a petition with the federal labor board for a union election last October.
The union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the board in January, accusing the company of illegally interfering with and restraining their employees’ right to organize, free of unlawful interference or coercion.
The union alleged, for instance, that the company told drivers they “would no longer support employees,” would no longer receive commission pay, and “would receive worse working conditions” if they voted in favor of unionization, according to a copy of the charge obtained by Orlando Weekly through a FOIA request.
The charge also claims the company illegally coerced drivers by “creating more onerous and retaliatory working conditions for, and rewarding employees for refraining from, engaging in union activities."
The election ended up being a tie, with 10 delivery drivers voting in favor of unionization in November and 10 drivers voting against. Under federal labor law, a simple majority of workers must vote in favor of unionization in order for the union to be victorious. If there’s a tie, the union loses.
Teamsters Local 79, based in Tampa, filed objections to the election results, alleging election misconduct on the part of the employer. That case however, was closed in late April, meaning the results will be counted as final. The union also withdrew its unfair labor practice charge against the employer around the same time.
When reached by Orlando Weekly Monday, Teamsters Local 79 organizing director John Sholtes declined to comment on the record about what the closed cases mean for the Davenport delivery drivers.
Sholtes previously told us the company had held meetings with the drivers ahead of the election, sharing “futility statements” with drivers that served to make them believe unionizing would be futile, or even worsen their existing working conditions.
A BlueTriton spokesperson, when contacted by Orlando Weekly last fall, declined to comment on allegations made by the Teamsters. We reached out to them again and are awaiting a response.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly half of U.S. employers are charged with violating federal law during organizing campaigns, from illegally firing workers to coercing and threatening workers over support for unionization. Some employers, flush with enough cash, hire professional union busters, often paid hundreds of dollars an hour, to persuade workers against unionization.
BlueTriton Brands, formerly known as Nestlé Waters North America, was bought by the private equity firms, One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co., in 2021.
The latter firm, founded by billionaire investor Dean Metropoulos, has a history of buying up struggling brands and finding anti-worker ways to streamline operations and cut costs.
After Metropoulos & Co. bought snack cake brands from Hostess in 2012 through a joint venture with investment partner Apollo Global Management, the company’s new owners reportedly left no place for some of the Twinkies-maker’s formerly unionized workers, including unionized delivery drivers represented by the Teamsters. From 2012 to 2016, the share of Hostess’s unionized workforce dropped from 83 percent to just 30 percent, according to the New York Times.
According to Bloomberg, BlueTriton Brands is also on the radar of environmental advocates and experts, who have expressed concern about how the company's growth and increased pumping practices could negatively affect vulnerable springs and creeks in states like Florida and California.
It's unlikely this was on the radar of the Orlando City Commission Monday afternoon. City commissioners, some of whom have received endorsements over the years from local unions, often approve new publicly funded contracts with private companies for things like lawn services or fence repair with little or no public comment. BlueTriton Brands isn't exactly notorious for allegations of anti-union behavior, unlike say, Starbucks, Amazon, or Trader Joe's.
Papagni, the city spokesperson, told Orlando Weekly the agreement with BlueTriton will allow for the company to provide bottled water to various city departments, including Emergency Management during hurricane season.
Water bottle delivery, courtesy of the bottled water producer, will also service certain offices in City Hall, the Orlando Police Department, and the city-operated Kia Center, among other city divisions, according to project documents.
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