About 420 workers at a Molson Coors brewery in Fort Worth are preparing to strike as the union continues to negotiate a new contract.
The workers voted Feb. 11 to authorize a strike, if necessary. Authorization doesn’t ensure a strike will occur. Employees at the plant package and distribute a variety of Molson Coors products, such as Topo Chico, Simply, Pabst and Yuengling. Mechanics, electricians and utility operators also help operate the brewery.
Rick Miedema, secretary treasurer for Teamsters Local 997, said their goal is to negotiate wages and benefits to a level that meets inflation. The union has been negotiating since November. Neither Miedema or Molson Coors disclosed the details of their proposals. Miedema said the company’s proposals for increased wages are not substantial, citing increasing inflation andthe company’s high profits.The last contract at the Fort Worth brewery was negotiated in 2021.
“We’re just trying to get our fair share back from that corporation,” Miedema said.
Now, the international brewery division of the union is working with the company to accept the terms of union’s “last, best and final” offer they presented to the company last week. Miedema said the workers are permitted to walk out at any time and said he’s confident it will happen — within a couple of weeks. The union has authorized a strike fund of $1,000 a week if the workers do strike,according to a Teamsters release.
Several other unions have used strikes to get higher wages and benefits. Thousands of autoworkers at the United Auto Workers union, including in Arlington, went on strike before reaching an agreement. Actors and writers also went on strike for months.
Molson Coors’ chief communications officer Adam Collins wrote to the Fort Worth Report that the company has made an offer that exceeds market rates and is committed to reaching an agreement. The company has a backup plan if workers strike.
“We deliberately built up distributor inventories across the country in recent weeks, our five other U.S. breweries have extra capacity, and we are well equipped to ensure that consumers will be able to buy their favorite Molson Coors products,” Collins wrote.
The Molson Coors brewery in Fort Worth is currently the only one negotiating a new contract. About 5,000 Teamsters members are negotiating a new contract with Anheuser-Busch.
Seth Bodine is a business and economic development reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at seth.bodine@fortworthreport.org or follow@sbodine120 on X, formerly known as Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policyhere.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.