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No beer for Americans in March? 5000 Anheuser-Busch workers threaten to strike
As Anheuser-Busch faces a strike by 5,000 workers demanding better pay and conditions, the brewing giant braces for its first major union showdown of 2024.
Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light and other popular beers, is facing a potential strike by 5,000 of its workers who are demanding better pay, job security and benefits. The workers, who belong to the Teamsters union, voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike last month if their contract is not renewed by 29 February. This is the first major union showdown of 2024.
The Teamsters warned on X that a strike would disrupt the supply of beer across the US.
“Without a contract by February 29, there won’t be any beer come March,” they said.
The union is led by Sean O’Brien, who became the president in 2022 and negotiated a historic contract with UPS amid strike threats. He vowed to fight for the workers at Anheuser-Busch as well.
“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,” he said in a statement after the strike vote. The union claims that the company has not met with them since 16 November, when it rejected their demands for job security.
What do the workers demand?
The workers say they deserve a significant wage increase, as their pay has not kept up with inflation and the rising cost of living. Anntonette Norris, who has worked at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Jacksonville, Florida, for 25 years, said the company used to be the best employer in the industry, but not anymore.
“When I started, Anheuser-Busch was what you would consider the top dog, it was the job to have. The pay was great, but with inflation, we are not the top-paying job,” she said.
She said her brother, who joined the company in the last five years, was struggling to afford the things that she could easily get when she started.
“With the increases of prices for everything, people are working numerous amounts of overtime to try to make up for the pay we don’t have at this time,” she said.
The workers also face harsh working conditions, such as extreme heat in the summer and cold in the winter, and have to operate dangerous, hi-tech equipment. They often work night shifts and miss time with their families.
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“It’s a great product to enjoy out in the market, but it’s a big sacrifice to make that product,” Norris added.
“Anheuser-Busch wants to be No 1 in the beer industry, then they should want the No 1 group of employees working for them, who are proud to work for them and who are being compensated like it. We just want a fair and great contract that we feel that we are long overdue for.”
Anheuser-Busch produces some of the most popular beers in the US, such as Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, Busch and Stella Artois. It has 12 breweries in the US, located in New York, Georgia, Ohio, California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, California, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Missouri and Virginia.
