Coors Workers Are On Strike, Would Like More Than A 99 Cent Raise, Please!
That is just insulting.
Four-hundred twenty workers at a Molson Coors plant in Fort Worth, Texas, members of Teamsters Local 997, have gone on strike over a particularly insulting raise offer and the company’s overall refusal to work with them on a fair contract.
It’s not because they can’t afford it, either. Molson Coors is doing better than ever. They just don’t want to.
“Molson Coors announced this week that the company’s year-end 2023 earnings were its highest in 19 years. The company spent more than $50 million on advertising in the fourth quarter. Molson Coors reported making six years’ worth of profit growth in 2023 alone. Last October, the company announced a $2 billion stock buyback for wealthy shareholders,” according to statement from the Teamsters.
It is highly unlikely that any of that profit would have been made had it not been for workers the Fort Worth plant — one of the largest commercial brewing facilities in the nation — making, packaging and warehousing all of that beer. Instead of rewarding its workers and allowing them to share in the company’s success, Molson Coors instead came to the table and offered them a raise of just 99 cents an hour for the next three years.
The workers, who have been working on this contract for the last several months, are also looking for an end to the company’s two-tiered system for healthcare benefits and retirement plans that gives newer hires fewer benefits than those who were grandfathered into the older, better plans. Two-tiered systems — meant to be a way of phasing out the good benefits and replacing them with the kind of crap it is now easier for these companies to get away with — have been a point of contention in many strikes over the last few years.
“As long as the profits keep flowing to the top, Molson Coors doesn’t give a damn if the workers inside its breweries can afford to take care of their families. They put pennies on the table for the workers behind these products. They want to strip working families of their health care. The greed and abuse from Molson Coors must end now,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “Executives shamelessly brag to investors about the company’s incredible growth and historic earnings. Millions go to the CEO, billions go to Wall Street, and a middle finger goes to the workers. We’re not taking the disrespect, we’re not accepting the crumbs, and we’re not making concessions. The Teamsters are taking this fight to the streets, and we will hold the line until our members get what they have earned.”
In addition to Coors beer, the Teamsters working at the plant also produce Coors Light, Topo Chico, Simply juices, Pabst, and Yuengling.
Unfortunately, Texas is a Right To Work For Less state, which means that workers who don’t want to join a union get a free ride from the ones who pay their dues. Usually that translates to not having enough money to function properly (which is what the Republicans who push these laws want) or have nice things like funds that keep workers afloat while they are striking.
However, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters also announced this week that they will be providing members striking at the Fort Worth plant with a stipend of $1,000 per week, which means that they will be able to hold out for what they deserve.
Let’s hope that they have as much success as other major strikes have had in the last year, because each time a union wins, it becomes that much easier for the next group that strikes. We’re on a roll here.
NOTE: This was written before the Teamsters donated $45,000 to the RNC.
PREVIOUSLY:
why the hell do they donate to the party that hates them ????
Ta, Robyn. All these strikes do my heart good. I'm in the wrong division of (possibly) the wrong union. 1199 is TERRIFIC for home health care workers who were experiencing wage theft, but for some strange reason, we're in the CBO for pharmacists, which none of us are. There is one pharmacy in our network, so there are definitely a few at one of our clinics (the only one with a pharmacy, and its main function is MAT). The network's attorneys were embarrassed at the last negotiation meeting because the network's offer was so ridiculous, and they (the lawyers) said they'd come back when they have SOMETHING. I love my clients, I love my supervisor and a number of my coworkers, but I loathe and detest the network for which I work. I'm not the only one.