June 4, 2024

The Teamsters Local 812 representing 3000 Teamsters in the New York City and vicinities in the beverage industry is strongly opposed to S4246C/A.5322C as written.

The mandates in this bill will negatively impact our union members, costing them jobs, job hours and income We are not opposed to improvements to the state’s recycling system, but there must be a way to accomplish this without harming working men and women.

Within the next 2 years, this measure bans all packaging from being sold in New York if it cannot be recycled, which would forbid from the market enormous amounts of products that use flexible packaging. The products that would be banned include grocery items, personal care items and home improvement products.

Our drivers transport many of these products in and out of the state. This provision would have the effect of shrinking dramatically the sale and manufacturing of these products, which in turn would result in a loss of work and income for our drivers.

This measure would also mandate that companies cut their production of all packaging by up to 30% after 12 years. This would force from our market businesses that cannot comply with such a mandate, businesses that re,!y on our drivers to transport their goods and pay good wages and benefits to do it.

These mandates would severely curtail from delivery many of the retail food products that are sold and made in New York. The supply chain that we are a direct participant in would contract, as would the number of jobs and job hours available to our members.

In short, this measure would be costly and disruptive to the commercial activity that our workers depend on for their livelihoods. For that reason, we cannot support S4246C/A5322C.