HARRISBURG – Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz is on the front lines
of the fight to privatize liquor, reports ABC 27 News.
Should the state legislature move forward with plans to
privatize the Pennsylvania liquor system, Sheetz is ready to restock walk-in
coolers with beer and possibly wine, which now contain sodas.
But during a public hearing last week, Sheetz was the target
of one state senator during a public hearing, much to the dismay of Louie
Sheetz, executive vice president of marketing, who was also attending the
hearing.
The news source writes that Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley boasted that
Sheetz and other retailers “stand ready to create jobs” if given the
opportunity under privatization. However, state Sen. Jim Ferlo more than
disagreed:
"The notion that you're gonna kill all these family
sustaining jobs and that somehow people are gonna go out and work for minimum
wage at a damn Sheetz, I think, is outrageous," Ferlo said.
Louie Sheetz told the news source that Ferlo’s comment
simply was not true. Sheetz said every one of the retailer’s 9,000 employees
within Pennsylvania earns more than minimum wage. “[I]t offended me only from a
standpoint that he didn't have his fact right,” Sheetz said.
Dale Paige, a Sheetz customer, also took offense to Ferlo’s
rant: "It's disrespectful. A job is a job, right?" she told the news
source, adding, "You're a hard-working person ... it's not something I
would've said, let's put it that way."
Ferlo, however, wasn’t done.
"Let's be honest about Sheetz and all these other
convenience stores. Yes, they're a reality whether I like it or not," he
said. "They rip people off every day. They charge outrageous prices, they
have smaller products. They're an economic reality."
Sheetz customer Jim Massey f
ound Ferlo's comments
distasteful: "To say something like that about a business in Pennsylvania
seems kind of brazen and bold because they serve a purpose and that purpose is
convenience," he told the news source.
ABC 27 contacted Ferlo for comment. He did not apologize for
his comments about Sheetz but did say he is "very passionate and concerned
about the issue of liquor privatization and the workers whose jobs are
threatened by the governor's proposal."
"I firmly believe that liquor privatization will lead
to job loss, higher prices, and less selection for consumers," he added.
"My comments at this week's hearing regarding convenience stores were
meant to generally refer to what I believe will happen if there is a
proliferation of alcohol sales, which is a certain result of the governor's
plan."
Sheetz, with 226 stores in Pennsylvania, hopes to sell beer
and wine should the liquor privatization proposal go through. The state Senate
is expected to offer its plan in the coming weeks.