Canada: Steelback Brewery Sues SEIU and union organizer for $6,000,000

Steelback Brewery announced on August 18 that its employees voted 'no' on July 25 to a bid by SEIU(Service Employees International Union) to unionize Steelback Brewery's Tiverton plant. Other matters are currently before the Labour Relations Board. However, since that vote the SEIU and organizer Tom Galivan specifically have waged a slanderous and malicious campaign defaming the brewery, its products, and its CEO and founder Frank D'Angelo personally.

In a statement Frank D'Angelo said "Steelback Brewery has followed the rules before and after the employees voted. The SEIU lost the vote and I understand that they are disappointed, but that does not give them the right to try and destroy the good name of Steelback Brewery and myself by attacking the quality of our beer and my personal integrity".

"I find it very hard to understand how this union on one hand says they want to look after the interests of Steelback employees while on the other hand they are trying to hurt the very place where these employees earn their livelihood".

As a consequence of the unwarranted attacks Steelback issued and served a
claim for $6,000,000 in damages against the SEIU, its officers and Tom Galivan
personally.

Steelback is a private company, it currently has nine products available through The Beer Store; Steelback Silver, Steelback Red, Steelback Blue Thunder, Bruce County Wild, Chain, Tango, Link Light, Tiverton Honey Lager and Tiverton Dark Lager. Steelback offers consumers premium beers in innovative packaging, utilizing plastic bottles and full "body sleeve" labels that resemble a hand painted bottle. It's the first brewery in Canada to use this technology.

19 August, 2005