UFCW Members watch intently as Wendell Young IV testifies in Harrisburg.

Once again, the privateers are up to their old tricks and are attempting to dismantle the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) and put 3,500 of our members on unemployment.

State Rep. Natalie Mihalek, a Republican from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties has proposed a constitutional amendment that would bar the state from selling or manufacturing wine and spirits. The proposal is a sham. Rep. Mihalek does not want to spend the time and energy to study the issues and learn the facts.

The bottom line is that privatization is bad public policy. Jobs will be lost. Taxes will go up. Prices for wine and spirits will increase.

When the House Liquor Committee convened a hearing on Rep. Mihalek’s proposal in January, our members stepped up in a huge way to send a clear message that our union will never, ever stop fighting to protect your jobs. Click here to see how our members captured the day.

Our members are always our most valuable voice! When we show up in our gold shirts and stand together in the Capitol, lawmakers notice. Please take a few minutes to look at some of the photos that we captured. You were everywhere! Your voices echoed throughout the building. We will need to keep this very visible presence going in the capitol and ‘back home’ in lawmaker’s districts. Again, thank you for your continued support.

Our allies joined us. Our supporters in the Pennsylvania House and Senate stood side-by-side with our members. This support is key, and it just would not happen without our Local’s strong ties to key decision-makers in Harrisburg. Our Legislative & Political team’s work to educate lawmakers and other allies about your hard work and the value that the PLCB delivers to all taxpayers is invaluable. We shared real facts and actual data and studies on the PLCB and what privatization would mean: fewer jobs, higher taxes, and higher prices for wine and spirits. It is a lousy idea, period.

We will not stop fighting to protect these jobs.

Yours in solidarity,

Wendell Young IV