Teamsters authorize potential strike at Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch's US breweries

Anheuser-Busch union members are prepared to strike.

Ninety-nine percent of the roughly 5,000 Teamsters working across the company’s 12 U.S. breweries have voted to authorize a strike, according to a Saturday news release from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The breweries produce some of the most popular beer brands in the country, including Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Busch.

The union said it wants an agreement that improves wages, protects jobs and secures health care and retirement benefits for its members. The current agreement expires on Feb. 29. 

“If Anheuser-Busch’s executives can’t get their act together to negotiate an agreement that respects workers, we will see them out on the streets,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in the release. 

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Teamsters said there are no dates set for negotiations. A statement from Anheuser-Busch said the company is "committed to negotiating in good faith with the union to reach an agreement that recognizes and rewards the talent, commitment, and drive of our employees."

Strike authorization votes are a common practice amid contract negotiations and may not result in a strike. Earlier this year, Teamsters at UPS and Las Vegas unions representing hospitality workers authorized strikes that were averted through new agreements.

The threat of an Anheuser-Busch strike comes after the beermaker's parent company, AB InBev, saw its revenue and stock price take a hit from a conservative-led Bud Light boycott. The backlash stems from the brand's brief partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote a March Madness giveaway on social media.

AB InBev's share price has largely recovered since then, with Friday’s closing price up 4.9% from the start of the year, but the boycott has continued to weigh on its performance. U.S. revenue in the third quarter was down 13.5% “primarily due to volume decline of Bud Light,” CEO Michel Doukeris said during an October earnings call.