(NewsNation) — March Madness without beer.
That’s the threat from Anheuser-Busch workers who say a strike will happen unless they get wage increases, more job security and better retirement benefits.
The workers, represented by the Teamsters, warned on social media that “without a contract by February 29, there won’t be any beer come March.”
Ninety-nine percent of the union voted to authorize a strike.
Anheuser-Busch brews some of the top-selling products in the U.S., including Budweiser products, Michelob Ultra, Busch and Stella Artois.
The Teamsters’ announcement comes just a few months after the United Auto Workers union secured wage increases by striking at Detroit’s Big Three auto companies.
Jason Greer, a labor relations and diversity management expert, told NewsNation he expects a strike.
“There is a very good possibility that we’re going to see a strike, largely because it works,” said Greer, who pointed to those contracts secured in the UAW strike.
Under the UAW contracts, top assembly plant worker pay will rise 33% by the time the deals expire in April of 2028. The new contracts also ended some lower tiers of wages, gave raises to temporary workers and shortened the time it takes for full-time workers to get to the top of the pay scale.
Anheuser-Busch managers and directors will likely have to step in if there is a strike.
“The company internally is making sure that their managers and directors are available to potentially work the line to get the products out,” Greer said. “In addition to the fact that they’re going to bring on temporary help from all different parts of the country.”
