Sysco Picketing Lawsuit Hinges on Standard for Secondary Strikes

Recent litigation involving Sysco Corp. has the potential to reshape what’s considered an illegal picket, with the food distributor arguing that unionized workers can’t strike in solidarity with Sysco workers in the Midwest because they technically don’t work for the same company.

The conflict arose earlier this month after Sysco workers in Indiana and Kentucky went on strike over wages and retirement benefits. Sysco workers belonging to Teamsters Local 117 in Washington state followed suit, exercising a clause of their contract that allows them to refuse to cross a “lawful, primary picket line,” according to court records.

In a complaint ...