The Teamsters and Anheuser-Busch, the nation's largest brewer, said late Wednesday that they had reached a tentative agreement on a contract that the union and the company said would provide sharp wage increases and significant job security protections.
Without an agreement, the Teamsters union's 5,000 members were poised Friday to strike against the company's 12 breweries across the country that make Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois and other beer brands.
“Teamsters make the beer, Teamsters make Anheuser-Busch successful, and our members deserve the best contract. “That's what we fought for and won today,” Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said in a statement Wednesday.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a statement that the company is “incredibly pleased to have reached an interim agreement that continues to recognize the talent, dedication and hard work of our teams while positioning the company for the long term.” “Long-term success. … As America’s leading brewery, we have the best people and offer the best jobs in the beer industry.”
Union members now have the opportunity to review the contract and vote on its approval. The new tentative agreement was unanimously recommended by the Teamsters Negotiating Committee. However, if members reject the deal, workers could still go on strike.
The Teamsters said the deal includes a wage increase of $8 an hour over the life of the five-year contract, including an immediate $4 an hour increase in the first year. This corresponds to an average wage increase of 23 percent over the contract term.
The agreement also includes significant job safety protections for all union employees, the union said — a key demand of Teamsters since the company has laid off union employees over the years. However, the union and the company did not specify what kind of job security the workers would receive.
Under the deal, workers would receive a $2,500 ratification bonus, increased pension contributions and the restoration of pension benefits for current and retired members, the union said. And the company will end its two-tier health insurance plan, the union said, under which some workers receive inferior benefits.
The new collective bargaining agreement comes at a time of increased labor activism in the United States, spurred by a booming labor market and rising popularity of unions. In 2023, American workers led 33 major strikes – defined as strikes involving at least 1,000 workers – the most in more than two decades, according to Labor Department data released this month.
Last year, union workers were able to secure contracts with double-digit raises through strikes and even simple strike threats. About 340,000 UPS employees — who are also Teamsters members — won a new contract last year that some labor experts called the best for workers in UPS history, including nearly 50 percent pay raises over five years for part-time workers.
The Teamsters said Anheuser-Busch agreed to meet in Washington on Wednesday for the first time in weeks to negotiate a deal before the strike deadline expires at midnight on Friday.
Later Wednesday, Teamsters CEO O'Brien said in a statement that the company had submitted a modified offer that “continues to ignore many of the Teamsters' key issues.” The parties reached a tentative agreement later in the day when the company submitted another offer.
In December, thousands of Anheuser-Busch Teamsters members voted to authorize a strike – with 99 percent in favor.
Teamsters members at Molson Coors in Fort Worth have also been on strike over wages since February 17.
Michael Silva, a senior official with Teamsters Local 919 who represents about 500 Anheuser-Busch workers at his Houston brewery, said this week that he was particularly concerned about job security. Its facility has existed for decades, providing jobs for multiple generations of families, although union jobs have been lost over the years.
“Our numbers have been slowly declining. Some of it has to do with automation,” Silva said. “Nobody should be afraid of not having a job.”
As the beer giant has automated and consolidated parts of its operations over the years, thousands of well-paying Teamsters jobs have been lost, according to labor and supply chain experts – a deindustrialization process that could plunge the local economy into recession. In 2022, Anheuser-Busch sold a distribution plant in Oakland, California, eliminating more than 140 Teamsters jobs.
Patrick Penfield, a professor of practice in supply chain management at Syracuse University, said Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Belgian multinational beer company that owns U.S. breweries, is excelling at cutting costs through new technology and automation.
“Anheuser-Busch is all about efficiency and automation,” Penfield said. “They acquire companies, incorporate them, and then look at how they can become more efficient and do more with less… The question is, 'Can we produce the same amount of beer with fewer breweries?'”