The Amherstburg Malden & Anderdon Sportsmen Association says it will continue to support Diageo workers in Amherstburg now and in the future.
"We're there for them as a club, and we'll help them out any way we can," says association president Rodney Ferriss.
He told AM800's The Dan MacDonald show, the club held a membership meeting on Tuesday and agreed to stop serving Diageo products in February if the plant does shut down.
Ferriss says until then, the club will continue to serve the products because the employees are still working.
"These people still have to work until February," he says. "They still have to keep that bottle line running, and the way I feel is, go out and buy some Crown Royal and support these guys while they're still working and show this company that we will buy the product, but make no mistake, if they do pull that plant out of Amherstburg, then we'll just stop serving their product. These people still have to work until February. They still have to make a wage. They're still doing some soul searching for their future, and we want to support them right up until the end, and hopefully it never happens."
Ferriss says he's been president of the club for 15-years, and he's always tried to support the community through the association.
"I hope the best for them come February," says Ferriss. "I hope the union can pull something together and keep that plant going."
Ferriss says the membership of the club does consist of current Amherstburg Diageo workers and retirees from the facility.
The company announced late last week it will close its Amherstburg bottling plant in February 2026, putting more than 200 people out of work and moving production to Quebec and the United States.
Essex Conservative MPP Anthony Leardi is calling on residents to dump out all of their Diageo products to support the workers and the community.
Premier Doug Ford dumped a bottle of Crown Royal at a news conference on Tuesday and called the company "dumb as a bag of hammers".
Unifor Local 200 represents the workers and is asking the province to remove Crown Royal whisky from the LCBO.