Leadership with the Teamsters blasted brewer Anheuser-Busch’s latest contract offer Wednesday, just two days before thousands of union members could strike.
According to a Wednesday statement, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said the beer giant’s proposal hasn’t addressed the union’s most important demands.
“The new offer that Anheuser-Busch put on the table this morning continues to ignore many of the Teamsters’ key issues. They are lowballing workers on wages, they’re not investing enough money in our members’ pensions and they’ve made no firm commitment on job protections,” the Teamsters president said.
While Mr. O’Brien didn’t provide further details on the proposed contract, the union once again warned the company to get serious about negotiations before Friday’s strike deadline.
“Practice picketing is ongoing from Houston to Jacksonville to Los Angeles and St. Louis as contract expiration nears on Feb. 29,” the union said in a statement. “Despite AB InBev negotiators resuming bargaining this morning, no additional times have been set for talks to continue.”
Anheuser-Busch couldn’t be reached for comment.
If Anheuser-Busch and the Teamsters fail to reach a deal by Friday, over 5,000 workers will be on the picket lines next week. It would mark the second beer-related strike from the Teamsters this year after union workers at Molson Coors in Fort Worth, Texas, walked out this month.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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