WASHINGTON, D.C., Sep. 01 /CSRwire/ - Two leading sustainable business organizations representing 5,000 small businesses today sent a letter calling on President Obama to reject the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and, instead, invest in clean energy technologies.  

The pipeline would deliver oil from the tar sands in Canada to the Gulf of Mexico across the United States.

In their letter, Green America’s Green Business Network and The Green Chamber of Commercesaid the pipeline would further United States addiction to oil and risk disastrous new oil spills in rivers and the Ogallala aquifer. Global warming and oil spills have been seen to have an extremely detrimental effect on the economy, which affects the well-being of their businesses.

In addition to these risks, production of the 700,000 barrels of heavy crude that would travel from the tar sands every day creates a tremendous amount of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Both the potential for environmentally harmful oils spills and increase in GHG emissions would be harmful to the environment, in addition to the harm to business in the United States.

The text of the letter to President Obama follows:

“We write to you on behalf of thousands of small businesses in the United States that are deeply concerned about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The well-being of our businesses and the economy in the United States are tied to the health of our environment. The Keystone XL pipeline will have an immensely negative impact on the environment. It would bring 700,000 barrels of heavy crude from Canadian tar sands to the US every day, furthering the US addiction to oil, and risking new oil spills in rivers and the Ogallala aquifer. The production of oil from tar sands would generate enormous greenhouse gas emissions, and create greater impacts from global warming.

The impacts of global warming -- from droughts, to floods, to extreme weather -- are bad for business in the United States. As we saw in the Gulf, oil spills also have a devastating impact on the economy. The failure to shift America away from its dependence on oil to cleaner fuels will further imperil our economy and reduce the number of green jobs we need for sustainable economic growth.

Your administration has taken bold and necessary steps to increase the green energy economy in the US. Now, we urge you to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and further invest in clean energy technologies. It is the right decision for the US, and it is the right decision for business.”

ORRVILLE, Ohio - The J.M. Smucker Co. perked up coffee-lovers by announcing that after four straight price hikes in little over a year, the company was cutting prices by an average of 6 percent.

The Orrville food company, which is holding its annual shareholders meeting today, said Tuesday's news applies to the prices on a majority of its coffee products sold in the U.S., including top-selling Folgers Coffee, Folgers Gourmet Selections and Dunkin' Donuts packaged coffee sold in supermarkets.

Smucker cut prices in response to declines in the price of raw green coffee futures, which slipped to $2.10 per pound in July, down 9 percent from a 34-year-high of $2.31 per pound in April.

That's still 65 percent higher than the $1.27-per-pound price in April 2010, but represents the third-straight monthly decline after more than a year of steadily climbing prices, according to the International Coffee Organization.

Those rising prices, on top of higher fuel and other production costs, prompted Smucker to increase its own coffee prices four times:

• 4 percent on May 18, 2010;

• 9 percent on Aug. 3, 2010;

• 10 percent on Feb. 8, 2011;

• and 11 percent on May 24.

Smucker's rivals, including Starbucks, Maxwell House, Peet's Coffee & Tea and Green Mountain Coffee have raised their coffee prices over the past year, too, but have not yet responded to Tuesday's announcement.

Dominic Caruso, vice president of Caruso's Coffee Inc., a specialty coffee roaster in Brecksville, said that while prices for some kinds of raw beans have fallen, they remain significantly higher than they were a year ago.

He said that while mass-produced coffee blends like Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts can compensate for more expensive beans by increasing the amount of cheaper robusta beans, coffee houses that specialize in premium beans or single-source coffees have less wiggle room to lower prices.

"On certain coffees, like breakfast blends and doughnut shop blends, we're going to try to pass along that savings to the customer," he said. "But on other coffees, like African coffees or Indonesian Sumatras and Javas, we're stuck" with higher prices.

Caruso doesn't expect many coffee house regulars to switch to brewing at home, however, because coffee is still an affordable indulgence. "The customer who's going to the coffee shop is going there for a lot of reasons besides price," he said.

The price cut news also came a day before Smucker's annual shareholders meeting, where two shareholder groups that advise investors on responsible and sustainable companies are seeking more information about the company's long-term coffee strategy.

Calvert Investment Management Inc. of Bethesda, Md., and Trillium Asset Management LLC of Boston want shareholders to approve their Proposal 5, requiring Smucker to provide a report to shareholders about how the company plans to deal with possible climate changes and threats to family coffee farms within six months of the annual meeting.

Because coffee makes up 40 percent of Smucker's net sales and 48.6 percent of its profit, the groups wrote a letter to shareholders saying that they want to know how the company plans to respond to climate changes like global warming, changes in rainfall patterns, and its "responsibility for its impact on the coffee farming families in its supply chain."

Rebecca Henson, Calvert's sustainability analyst, said: "The proposal is meant to encourage the company to take more meaningful steps" to protect shareholders, because so much of its business depends on coffee. "We just think there's more they can do to manage this risk."

Calvert, a mutual fund which offers advice to more than 400,000 individual and institutional investors, owns 4,269 shares of Smucker stock.

Trillium, the oldest and largest independent adviser devoted exclusively to sustainable and responsible investing, advises several hundred clients who own about 90,000 shares of Smucker.

Both groups say Smucker has provided "woefully inadequate" guidance on these topics and that it "lags significantly behind" its global peers Nestle, Sara Lee and Kraft in providing that information.

Sara Lee, for example, aims to have 20 percent of its coffee volume certified sustainable by 2015, while Nescafe will distribute 220 million disease-resistant coffee plantlets to coffee farmers around the world by 2020.

Smucker declined to answer questions Tuesday about the price cut or Proposal 5, saying that it was in its quiet period prior to Thursday's earnings conference call.

In an Aug. 9 letter to shareholders, however, Co-Chief Executives Tim and Richard Smucker responded that the company had already answered those requests.

They said that "in making the decision and expending time and resources to voluntarily publish a corporate responsibility report, it has taken appropriate action to address shareholder concerns" and that adopting Proposal 5 would be "unnecessary, duplicative and inappropriate."

Read the original article here.

Labor Unrest at Giant Beer and Wine Distributor Could Leave Ohio Dry

DAYTON, Ohio, July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 300 delivery drivers and warehouse workers employed by Heidelberg Distributing throughout Ohio put up informational pickets at key distribution facilities around the state today to warn the company and the public of labor problems that could cut off Ohio's supply to beer and wine products during the busy summer season.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO )

"The last thing we want is a strike, but Heidelberg management just continues to back our members into a corner," said Varney Richmond, President of Teamsters Local 957. The Local represents more than 100 delivery drivers and warehouse workers at Heidelberg's Dayton-area distribution center, which distributes Anheuser Busch products including Budweiser.

Heidelberg Distributing is the 16th-largest beer wholesaler in the United States with sales of $206 million last year, according to Beverage World. The protest comes after a busy week of informational hand billing at the Dayton Air Show and the launch of several "Tell Budweiser: Destroying Ohio Jobs is Tasteless" billboards in Dayton.

"Heidelberg is trying to walk away from its obligation to provide health care to retirees and force employees to accept a substandard contract compared to Coke, Pepsi and Miller distributors in the area," Richmond said. "Our members have shown a willingness to take on cost-saving measures when management has pointed to legitimate issues. However, in this case the company cannot justify its changes."

The escalating conflict at the Dayton facility could extend to other collective bargaining agreements that cover more than 300 Heidelberg employees at four Ohio distribution centers, creating the possibility for a widespread labor dispute in Ohio.

"Despite enormous profits and sales, management is seeking drastic cuts from these workers," said Greg Nowak, Teamsters International Representative for the union's Beverage Conference. "If Heidelberg wants to wage war on workers, the company is going to have to answer to all of its employees and the communities that support its business."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.Teamster.org for more information.

 SOURCE Teamsters Local 957

Read more here.

Teamsters at an Anheuser-Busch InBev distributor in Ohio are threatening to walk off the job after contract negotiations broke down.

The union is accusing Heidelberg Distributing Co. , which handles a variety of beers made by Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD), including Budweiser beers, of breaking off negotiations and implementing a wide range of changes, including eliminating retiree health-care benefits for longtime employees.

“Coca-Cola, Miller and Pepsi are willing to pay their employees the industry standard for the beverage market and provide them with decent benefits,” Varney Richmond, president of Teamsters Local 957, said in a statement. “Budweiser’s distributor needs to stop being greedy and step up to the plate.”

The union, which represents more than 100 workers at Heidelberg, alleges the company wants to force its employees to work up to seven days a week, eliminate retiree health care for longtime employees and take away employees right to take unpaid leave for family medical emergencies.

Heidelberg officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Anheuser-Busch InBev of Belgium, the world's largest brewer, owns St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch.

By DANNY ADLER
Staff writer Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments

The Upper Makefield supervisors on Wednesday approved a three-year agreement with its public works union that gives workers an annual 2 percent wage increase while eliminating the township’s co-pay reimbursement account.

The agreement with the Teamsters Highway Truck Drivers and Helpers Local 107 was approved in a 3-1 vote by Supervisors Conrad Baldwin, Mary Ryan and Dan Rattigan. Supervisor Tom Cino voted against it, saying he wanted “cost sharing” toward benefits for new hires.

Supervisor Dave Kulig was absent from the meeting.

The vote followed a report by township Manager Stephanie Teoli saying it was less costly for the township to keep its in-house public works department than outsource the work.

The three-year deal covers this year, next year and 2013.

As the supervisors discussed the government’s budget last fall, frustrated residents blasted the board for an account that reimbursed employees for their co-pays.

The new contract with the union eliminates the co-pay reimbursement plan, saving the township $2,500 annually for the four public works crew members, a total savings of $7,500 over the term of the deal.

The two sides negotiated a new health plan for all new hires, shifting from a PPO to a mandatory HMO with higher co-pays.

It also includes a change in employees’ life insurance plans, which will cost the township approximately $200 more a year.

While the total cost of the contract term is $10,989, the net cost (after accounting for the reduced spending for reimbursements and the increase of $200 a year for life insurance) is $4,089, Teoli said.

Prior to that discussion, Teoli presented the board with a report on the potential of privatizing all of the township’s public works services, an idea that was brought up during budget discussions last year. According to Teoli’s report, though, outsourcing all public works would cost the township an additional $95,000 in labor costs, or an increase of 31 percent.

Total in-house labor costs for public works cost the township about $303,450. If the township were to outsource the work, it would cost nearly $399,000, Teoli said.

The township outsources some of its services, such as operations at the public water and sewer facility at the Heritage Hills neighborhood, mowing, tree removal and some snow removal, officials said.

“I believe that the combination of some outsourced and a small work crew is working very well for Upper Makefield Township,” Teoli said. “Having a small staff allows us to provide timely, professionalized service that I don’t believe we would be able to duplicate in the private sector.”

“Is it me or is this a no-brainer?” asked Rattigan when comparing the new agreement to the costs associated with outsourcing.

Just before casting the lone no vote on the three-year deal with the public works, Cino said “the offer on the table is reasonable.”However, he said, “My concern is around new hires and the benefit package."