5,000 Anheuser-Busch Teamsters Begin Talks for Better Wages, Benefits

(WASHINGTON) – Anheuser-Busch Teamsters and the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference kicked off negotiations on Monday for a new contract protecting 5,000 brewery workers nationwide.

“The Teamsters drew a blueprint to win the most historic contract for our members at UPS and we will build on that momentum to ensure another billion-dollar company pays our members their worth,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Anheuser-Busch will reward rank-and-file Teamsters for their sacrifices during the pandemic, right the wrongs of previous worker concessions, and improve the wages, health care, and retirement benefits for the thousands of American families that make this company so successful the world over.”

The Teamsters represent production workers at 12 U.S. breweries for Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest beer maker in the world. Negotiations for a new agreement began Sept. 18 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The current contract expires Feb. 29, 2024.

“Anheuser-Busch loves to use hardworking Teamsters when advertising its ‘Made in America’ brand, so it’s only fitting the company put its money where its mouth is,” said Jeff Padellaro, Director of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference. “Teamsters having been picking up the tab for this company for too long. To Anheuser-Busch we say, ‘The next round is on you.’”

Anheuser-Busch Teamsters are demanding the strongest possible contract that eliminates a two-tier health care system, improves wages, and establishes more robust job security across its brewery infrastructure.

The Teamsters negotiating committee includes rank-and-file Anheuser-Busch workers from around the country.

“We saw how our fellow Teamsters won big at UPS and we want a similar outcome for a strong new contract, especially in light of the challenges workers overcame during the pandemic,” said Ryan Smith, a Teamsters shop steward at the Merrimack, New Hampshire brewery and negotiating committee member. “The hard work we put in every day has earned us our fair share of Anheuser-Busch’s enormous success.”

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more and follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

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