Teamsters raising a glass to Gov.-elect Wolf

They might not like Yuengling.

But the Teamsters evidently are drunk in love with Gov.-elect Tom Wolf.

A day after State Rep. Mike Vereb (R., Montgomery) said that Wolf's inauguration planners were excluding Yuengling, the Pottsville-based brew, from his inaugural celebration, the leader of Teamsters Local 830 sent out a news release praising the incoming governor - and teeing off on the brewery's president, Richard Yuengling Jr., whom the union has long described as "anti-worker."

"Every union member in Pennsylvania is indebted to Gov.-elect Wolf for this strong statement on behalf of the state's labor movement," Daniel Grace said in a statement. "By standing against Yuengling, he has stood up for the little guy."

The 74-year-old Yuengling has for years drawn scorn from organized labor due to his support of "right-to-work" laws, which labor advocates say are designed to bust unions.

Local 830, which Grace said represents about 3,600 workers at beer and soda companies, has been at odds with Yuengling since at least 2006, when workers at the brewery suddenly decided to decertify their union.

Local 830 at the time represented nearly 80 employees in the brew house, bottling shop, and warehouse, according to a 2007 Associated Press article, and the union believed Richard Yuengling gave the workers an ultimatum - dump the Teamsters, or I'll shut down the plant.

The National Labor Relations Board ultimately found no evidence that management had pressured workers to decertify, the AP reported. But the dispute lingers, at least for the Teamsters. On Friday, Grace mentioned the 2006 dustup during an interview, citing it as more evidence of Richard Yuengling's "antiunion" beliefs.

Yuengling could not be reached for comment Friday. Messages left for company representatives were not returned.

One mystery that remained at week's end was how and why the decision came about to exclude Pennsylvania's oldest brewery from Wolf's inauguration.

Grace, who was appointed to Wolf's transition team, said he never raised the issue. Vereb said he wasn't sure whether Wolf had known that such a call had been made.

Whatever the case, Beth Melena, a Wolf spokeswoman, reiterated Friday that "we met our beverage needs," and Vereb said he had received no indication that the Yuengling-free zone would be changed.

That's fine with Grace.

"I applaud Tom Wolf," he said. "He demonstrates that he's going to support employers who support their workers fairly."