Students may have cause to whine if a union of wine and spirits store workers gets its way.
The Independent State Store Union, a Pennsylvania labor organization, is criticizing the announcement of Fresh Grocer’s plans to house a wine vending machine.
Last week, the ISSU president and vice president sent a letter to members of the Pennsylvania state legislature criticizing the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for its plans to place a wine kiosk in the Fresh Grocer at 4001 Walnut St.
The letter questioned the ability of the PLCB machines to keep alcohol away from underage students, saying the location of the kiosk “makes a cynical joke” of the PLCB and alcohol industry’s efforts to curb underage drinking.
The store received a permit on Sept. 16 from the PLCB to acquire the machine. According to the ISSU letter, the permit was issued a day after the Board announced its distribution of nearly $1 million in grants to Pennsylvania communities and colleges to limit underage and dangerous drinking.
The PLCB plans to bring a total of 100 machines to grocers around the state for “one-stop shopping,” PLCB spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said. Although the Fresh Grocer near Penn acquired the wine machine permit four weeks ago, Kriedeman said the PLCB is “still in the process of finalizing locations.”
Michael Dusak, vice president of the ISSU, said the union is critical of all the wine vending machines across the state, saying they lack the “face-to-face contact” found in independent stores where employees can moderate the sales in person rather than through a remotely managed video feed.
All kiosk patrons must scan their driver’s licenses to ensure they are over 21. Customers must blow into a tube to determine his or her breath alcohol content. The machines deny all sales to underage people and those with a BAC of .02 or higher.
Dusak said the union requested to be involved in the PLCB’s wine machine project, but it was not included.
He expressed concern as to the number of people regulating the sales, questioning how they will be managed when all 100 machines are in place.
The PLCB plans to have 18 employees approving or denying the sales once all kiosks are operational and will add more if necessary, Kriedeman said.
Dusak said the machines will draw consumers away from wine and spirits stores, which are staffed according to the number of bottles sold. Likening the kiosks to slot machines in a casino, he said kiosks “never get sick, don’t get paid.”
However, Kriedeman said the wine machine test sites have not impacted sales at “brick-and-mortar stores” nearby.
Kriedeman said the PLCB is using a matrix to determine locations for the machines, and the board is still in negotiations with grocery stores around the state. While only the two original test machines are in place now, Kriedeman said the PLCB plans to begin rollout “within a matter of weeks, if not sooner.”
