As reported by New York CNN, 5,000 Teamsters strongly voted to authorize a strike in case a new contract fails to be agreed upon before the current one expires on February 29, 2024. These union workers makeup over 25% of Anheuser-Busch's American workforce, spread across 12 breweries in the United States.
Plan for Strike to Negotiate in Good Faith
99% of the union members voted to approve the strike on Saturday, aiming to reach an agreement acknowledging and rewarding its employees' talent, commitment, and dedication. If the company's executives fail to negotiate the deal with workers respectfully, the union is prepared to go on strike as reported. Anheuser-Busch InBev acknowledged the vote and committed to negotiating in good faith.
Strike authorization and landslide votes are a regular occurrence in labor negotiations. Unions use them to signal their members' readiness to strike if a deal is not reached. However, most labor contracts are negotiated successfully without the need for the union to carry out the strike threats. For instance, with around 340,000 members at UPS, the Teamsters union authorized a strike but agreed to avoid the walkout just a week before the August 1 strike deadline.
Strike Trend Since 2022
Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations Data showed that strikes have become more frequent in the past year. Seventy strikes involving 100 or more workers lasting more than a week in 2023 took place, a 59% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Unions have achieved notable success in negotiations, whether carrying out strikes or preventing them. Analysis by CNN reveals that nearly 1 million union members secured immediate pay raises of 10% or more in contracts reached in the past 12 months, whose gains occurred in the last six months.
Notable Decline Due to Controversy
Gains at businesses experiencing record-high or almost record-high profits could make complying with such union demands easier. Anheuser-Busch went through a significant sales drop for the previous year, which has sparked a boycott by some conservatives due to a controversy surrounding the use of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a social media campaign for Bud Light brand. The discussion caused the company to steep from its top spot as the best-selling beer brand in the U.S., where the overall revenue in the third quarter per 100 liters fell by 13.5%, which is a critical indicator of beer sales.
Workforce Cuts
In July, Anheuser-Busch InBev reduced its U.S. workforce by almost 2%, eliminating around 400 positions. The company clarified that these layoffs wouldn't affect frontline staff, including brewery and warehouse workers, drivers, and field sales personnel.
The 5,000 Union Represent
The 5,000 union members mentioned in the Teamsters' announcement of the strike vote is approximately 750 fewer than the number of Teamsters employed under the Anheuser-Busch contract as of December 31, 2022, based on company filings.
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