Anheuser-Busch Workers Prepared To Strike
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More problems might be coming for Anheuser-Busch.
Union members have voted to authorize a strike.
Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said, “If Anheuser-Busch’s executives can’t get their act together to negotiate an agreement that respects workers, we will see them out on the streets.”
Anheuser-Busch union members are prepared to strike.
Ninety-nine percent of the roughly 5,000 Teamsters working across the company’s 12 U.S. breweries have voted to authorize a strike, according to a Saturday news release from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The breweries produce some of the most popular beer brands in the country, including Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Busch.
The union said it wants an agreement that improves wages, protects jobs and secures health care and retirement benefits for its members. The current agreement expires on Feb. 29.
“If Anheuser-Busch’s executives can’t get their act together to negotiate an agreement that respects workers, we will see them out on the streets,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in the release.
The two sides haven’t negotiated on job security issues since the middle of November.
According to the Teamsters, the union and Anheuser-Busch reached tentative agreements on ending tiered health care and restoring retiree health benefits last month – but the two sides haven’t negotiated on job security issues since mid-November.
The union’s announcement also took issue with Anheuser-Busch announcing “$1 billion in stock buybacks to wealthy investors as it simultaneously ignores the need to protect good jobs.”
“Anheuser-Busch can’t kick this can down the road much longer,” said Jeff Padellaro, director of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference. “The Teamsters don’t want to be forced onto the picket line at any employer, but we are fully prepared to walk if Anheuser-Busch doesn’t get serious about negotiating a record contract that also protects good union jobs.”
