TEAMSTERS SUE KING KULLEN FOR DEFAMATION

GREG GATTUSO

WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Teamsters Local 282 last week filed a $7.7 million defamation lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against King Kullen Grocery Co. here, the chain's public relations agency and Newsday, a Long Island newspaper.

The Teamsters said King Kullen and its public relations agency, epoch 5 marketing, Huntington, N.Y., ran ads in Newsday that "sought to permanently tarnish and destroy the reputation of Local 282 and its members who work for King Kullen."

Local 282 has been picketing King Kullen stores since Sept. 1, when the chain switched its grocery distribution to a nonunion wholesaler, Bozzuto's, Cheshire, Conn., and laid off 112 union warehouse workers and drivers. In response to the picketing, King Kullen has run a handful of full-page advertisements in Newsday to explain its position to consumers with the headline "What the Teamsters Don't Want You to Know." The ads claim that the Teamsters have said they are out to "destroy King Kullen" and to "bring King Kullen to its knees."

According to the lawsuit, "King Kullen and epoch 5 issued these statements and Newsday published these statements knowing they were false or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity and did so out of ill will and with a malicious intent of injury to Local 282 and its members and of depriving the 112 grocery warehouse and truck drivers of the ability to earn a living."

In a written statement, King Kullen director of labor relations, Thomas Nagle, said the chain intends to "vigorously" defend itself against the claim. Nagle said the Teamsters' comments were witnessed by union and management representatives during negotiations.

"We believe that the suit is intended to harass and intimidate King Kullen and is an attempt to intimidate the media from publishing the facts," Nagle said.

Throughout the two-month strike, union leaders have been asking King Kullen for an "alternative" to shuttering the warehouse.

King Kullen has said the closing is necessary to make the chain competitive and that its decision to close the facility will not be reversed. King Kullen offered the affected employees a severance package including a total of $2 million in severance pay, extended welfare and pension payments, and the creation of a retraining fund. However, the Teamsters have voted not to accept that proposal.