Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch has reached a contract agreement with the Teamsters union that avoids a strike at its US plants.
The union had threatened a strike on the brewer’s 12 US plants if an agreement on a recent five-year contract wasn’t reached by 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
The Teamsters union represents 5,000 Anheuser-Busch employees who brew and package beer and even maintain the corporate’s legendary Clydesdale horses.
However the two sides said late Wednesday that they had reached a tentative agreement that boosts wages and increases vacation days and pension contributions.
“Teamsters make the beer, Teamsters make Anheuser-Busch successful and our members deserve the perfect contract. That’s what we fought for and won today,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in an announcement.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said the contract also makes significant job security commitments.
“Our individuals are our biggest strength, and we’re incredibly pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that continues to acknowledge the talent, dedication, and labor of our teams, while also positioning the corporate for long-term success,” Whitworth said in an announcement.
The union said the total tentative agreement shall be shared with employees prior to a ratification vote, which is predicted to occur next week.
The strike would have been the primary within the US against Anheuser-Busch since 1976.
The union said earlier this month it was angered by an organization proposal that would close breweries and lay off employees.
But Anheuser-Busch is facing declining beer sales within the US, where drinkers are increasingly choosing spirits, hard seltzers and alcohol-free beverages.
It’s also attempting to win back consumers.
Bud Light, its best-selling brand, faced a conservative backlash last 12 months after it sent a commemorative can to transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Transgender rights supporters also deserted the brand, saying it didn’t do enough to support Mulvaney.
Anheuser-Busch shipments to US wholesalers dropped 13.8% last 12 months, in keeping with Beer Marketer’s Insights. Overall, US beer shipments were down 5%.
The corporate, a part of Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev, brews greater than a dozen brands at its US plants, including Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Stella Artois.
Not all US brewers have been spared strikes, nevertheless.
On Wednesday, 420 Teamsters-represented employees were on their second week of a strike at a Molson Coors plant in Fort Price, Texas.
“Molson Coors should pay close attention to the bar we’ve set today for brewery employees across the country,” O’Brien said in his statement.