Brewery Strike Looms in Fort Worth if Deal Not Reached for Over 400 Teamsters
Brewery Strike Looms in Fort Worth if Deal Not Reached for Over 400 Teamsters
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2024 - The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced today it will increase future strike benefits to $1,000 per week for members of Teamsters Local 997 fighting for a new contract at Molson Coors in Fort Worth, Texas.
Molson Coors negotiators have wasted time on insulting proposals and regressive offers despite having months to reach a fair three-year agreement. The beer company now faces serious risk of an imminent work stoppage just weeks ahead of a possible nationwide strike by 5,000 Teamsters battling Anheuser-Busch for their own contract.
The strike benefit for Molson Coors Teamsters will go into effect if the company fails to come to terms soon on an agreement that rewards workers with their fair share of record-setting profits. Local 997 is seeking pay raises and improved health care and retirement benefits for more than 420 Teamsters who make, package, and warehouse Molson Coors brews, and maintain the Fort Worth brewery.
The Texas facility is the only brewery that services the entire Western region of the United States with Molson Coors products that include Topo Chico, Simply, Pabst, and Yuengling, among other major beverage brands.
"The Molson Coors brewery in Fort Worth will shut down if a strong new contract is not reached, and the executives of yet another greedy beer giant will have no one to blame but themselves," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "Teamsters across the brewery industry are standing shoulder-to-shoulder. It doesn't matter if it's Molson Coors, Anheuser-Busch, or anyone else — these corporations cannot keep taking for themselves, shoveling money to Wall Street, and leaving the workers who make the products out in the cold. Teamsters know the value of our labor and we are not afraid to withhold it to get the contract we have earned."
Molson Coors' fourth-quarter 2023 earnings were the company's highest since 2005. In October 2023, Molson Coors announced a $2 billion stock buyback for wealthy shareholders.
"Molson Coors is on a bender, drunk on sky-high profits and losing sight with every passing day of what's really going on in the world. Workers are demanding their worth, and there is no way in hell the members of Teamsters Local 997 are going to accept a concessionary contract that would gut health care for our families and disrespect our work," said Rick Miedema, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 997. "We are in this fight for as long as it takes, the entire Teamsters Union is behind us, and we will not back down until we secure a contract that values the membership."
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
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