November 14, 2008: Teamsters at Anheuser Busch have won a new agreement they can be proud of.

But a look at some of the fine print gives some hints about what life under new management may be like.

Anheuser Busch Teamsters have overwhelmingly approved a new five-year contract that guarantees all 12 breweries will remain open for the life of the deal, plus a wage increase of $3.95 over five years.

It could have been much worse. A-B is in the middle of being bought up by Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev—a company notorious for union-busting.

InBev didn’t negotiate directly with our union. Company negotiators didn’t go after our union standards this time, after our union reached out to other unions at InBev from across the world.

Subcontracting

Still, the new deal does show some pointers as to what life will be like under InBev management.

InBev’s CEO Carlos Brito has a reputation for brutal cost-cutting, and he’s pledged to trim $1.5 billion in operating costs from A-B by 2011.

In other breweries, InBev management has cut jobs that aren’t part of the company’s “core.” That means subcontracting out maintenance jobs.

The new contract helps pave the way for subcontracting. In the Paint Department, open positions won’t be filled, and the department will be eliminated by attrition.

Similarly, utility workers won’t be guaranteed new power work located on company property but outside of the brewery’s four walls.

Retiree Healthcare Cuts

Another way InBev will seek to cut costs: shifting the burden of retiree healthcare.

Starting in 2013, retirees will pay a $500 deductible for family coverage. That deductible will go up to $1,000 the next year.

Retirees over the age of 65 will also pay a monthly premium of $100 for family coverage. Retirees under the age of 65 will pay no premiums.

“A-B Teamsters should be proud of holding off InBev for this round of bargaining,” said Katie Brutcher, a member of Local 1149 in Baldwinsville, N.Y. “But now is the time to get ready for new management.”

November 7, 2008: ST. LOUIS - The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. said Thursday the union's members ratified a five-year contract with the brewer.

The agreement covering more than 6,500 workers at the company's 12 breweries includes wage increases totaling 15 percent in the next five years.

October 7, 2006: The International Union has inked a deal with Anheuser-Busch that provides for major raises, but questions remain on job protection and retiree healthcare.

The five-year deal comes five months before the contract is scheduled to expire, and in the shadow of the take-over of Anheuser-Busch by InBev, a Belgian-Brazilian company, soon to be the largest brewer in the world.

Full-time Bud Teamsters will get annual raises of 90¢, 80¢, 75¢, 75¢, and 75¢ over the life of the contract. Weekenders and seasonals will get smaller increases.

Plant Closing Loopholes?

The tentative agreement commits the company to keep open all twelve A-B breweries over the life of the agreement.

But there may be loopholes.

A-B Teamsters are reporting that there may be loopholes in the new agreement for acts of God, an increase in the government excise tax, or economic hardship.

Bud Teamsters need to study the fine print closely and decide if these protections are strong enough.

Retiree Healthcare Costs

The new deal will also increase the costs of healthcare for retirees—a move many Bud Teamsters warned against.

Starting in 2013, retirees will pay a $500 deductible for family coverage. That deductible will go up to $1,000 the next year.

Retirees under the age of 65 will pay no premiums. Retirees over the age of 65 will also pay a monthly premium of $100 for family coverage.

“We’re having a local meeting this Thursday to go over the new contract, and I have a lot of questions,” said Katie Brutcher, a Local 1149 Teamster at the Baldwinsville, N.Y. brewery. “We need to ask the hard questions now so we can make an informed choice on this contract.”

August 21, 2008: The first round of Bud contract talks since Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev bought Anheuser-Busch wraps up today, with few surprises so far.

According to initial reports, management and the union brought only a few proposals to this round of talks, which dealt with local issues.

Talks will resume at the end of September, when the national negotiating committee will meet to discuss the national contract.

Our union’s contract with A-B covers over 7,000 brewery workers and expires March 1, 2009.

Big Issues Not Covered Yet

Most of the big issues will not be discussed until national talks start next month.

Concerns over healthcare costs and job security are at the top of the list for many Bud Teamsters.

The contract could be wrapped up before A-B’s merger with InBev goes through, but that does not mean A-B Teamsters are safe.

A-B’s board approved the merger earlier this summer, but the merger will take several more months to complete.

InBev’s CEO Carlos Brito has a reputation for brutal cost-cutting, and he’s pledged to trim $1.5 billion in operating costs from A-B by 2011.

Contract talks are still in the hands of the old A-B management. But Teamsters can be sure that InBev’s bean-counters will be paying close attention.

InBev has pledged they will not shut down any of A-B’s breweries. At a rally on Saturday, our bargaining team demanded they put that promise in writing in the new contract.

That’s a demand we can all get behind.

What do you think our union should do to hold InBev to its word? Click here to send your comments.

August 15, 2008: Union members from across the St. Louis area said Thursday they plan to hold a rally in support of Teamster workers at Anheuser-Busch.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from A-B's 12 breweries across the nation will converge Saturday.

Click here to read more at the Business Journal.

August 6, 2008: The prospective sale of Anheuser-Busch Cos. to a Belgian company has for now mostly receded from the headlines, but behind the scenes the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing most of A-B's brewery workers, is readying for a tough fight ahead.

Contract negotiations between Anheuser-Busch and its 8,000 Teamster-represented workers in St. Louis and at 11 other U.S. plants are slated to begin Aug. 18.

Click here to read more at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

August 1, 2008: A new report speculates that Anheuser-Busch management may seek an early contract before the InBev takeover even takes effect.

The Teamster contract covers 7,000 Teamsters at A-B, and it expires on March 1, 2009.

Talks on the new contract are scheduled for this August in Cincinnati.

A-B Teamsters are still reeling from the news that their company is being bought by Brazilian-Belgian brewing giant InBev.

The new company will be the largest brewing company in the world.

$1.5 Billion in Cuts

InBev CEO Carlos Brito has a reputation for brutal cost-cutting. The company has announced that they plan to shave A-B’s expenses by $1.5 billion by 2011.

Most of the early cuts will hit management and administration. The new owners have pledged they will not shut down any of A-B’s twelve North American breweries.

But unions in Belgium, Canada, and Brazil warn that InBev takes a tough approach at the bargaining table. Canadian brewery workers who work for Labatt found themselves under the gun thirteen years ago when InBev bought the Canadian brewer Labatt.

In response, they formed an alliance of unions, the Canadian Brewery Workers Alliance (CBWA). This was necessary to build unity and strength among the seven different unions at the seven Labatt breweries across Canada.

U.S. Teamster locals at Anheuser-Busch and the IBT have a good ally and information source on InBev in this alliance.

Talks in August

The InBev takeover will not go through before negotiations start, and our union will still be dealing with current A-B management.

A report in the St. Louis Beacon talked to several industry and labor experts who expect A-B to push for an early deal.

Some members hope that an early deal, before the takeover is completed, would keep InBev management out of talks. The Beacon report quotes other experts who expect InBev to play a big role at talks, even if it’s not at the table.

It’s up to the International to get members information about the union and company proposals. We need to be informed and united.

The International has launched a new website to keep members informed about the takeover, and they reached out to other brewery unions in other countries.

TDU will do its part to make sure that members get all the information they need to be involved and win a strong contract.

What do you think? Call TDU at (313) 842-2600 or send an email to info [at] tdu.org and share your comments.

July 23, 2008: A new report this week speculates that Anheuser-Busch management may seek an early contract before the InBev takeover even takes effect.

The report in the St. Louis Beacon quoted several industry and labor experts who expect A-B management to push for an early deal.

The Teamster contract covers 7,000 Teamsters at A-B, and it expires on March 1, 2009.

Talks on the new contract are scheduled for this August in Cincinnati.

Some members hope that an early deal, before the takeover is completed, would keep InBev management out of talks. The Beacon report quotes other experts who expect InBev to play a big role at talks, even if it’s not at the table.

It’s up to the International to get members information about the union and company proposals. We need to be informed and united.

The International has launched a new website to keep members informed about the takeover, and they reached out to other brewery unions in other countries.

TDU will do its part to make sure that members get all the information they need to be involved and win a strong contract.

Read the report in the St. Louis Beacon.

Stay in the loop. Click here to get email updates from Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

What do you think? Send us a message and tell us what you think our union should do to win a strong contract at A-B.

July 22, 2008: Canadian brewery workers who work for Labatt found themselves under the gun thirteen years ago when the Belgian brewing giant InBev bought the Canadian brewer Labatt.

In response, they formed an alliance of unions, the Canadian Brewery Workers Alliance (CBWA). This was necessary to build unity and strength among the seven different unions at the seven Labatt breweries across Canada.

These unions are the Teamsters at the Hamilton, Ontario brewery; the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) in Edmonton, Alberta; the Service Employees (SEIU), in London, Ontario; the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) in Halifax Nova Scotia; the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Workers (NAPE) in St.John’s, Newfoundland; the Interior Brewery Workers (IBW) in Creston, British Columbia; and Confederation des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN) in Montreal Quebec.

Since InBev took over Labatt, and went heavily into cost-cutting, the unions have banded together in the CBWA to build solidarity, share information, and defend union gains.

U.S. Teamster locals at Anheuser-Busch and the IBT have a good ally and information source on InBev in this alliance. Click here to visit their website or fred [at] breweryworkers.ca (email the CBWA) for more information.

July 14, 2008: It’s official. InBev will take over Anheuser-Busch to become the largest brewer in the world—leaving Teamsters to worry about their jobs and their future.

The deal came after InBev upped its offer to $70 per share, from $65.

InBev CEO Carlos Brito says he wants to trim A-B’s costs in the U.S. by $1.5 billion by 2011.

InBev’s management has a brutal reputation, and Forbes says job cuts are “widely expected.”

Many of the early victims of job cuts are likely to be nonunion employees in the company’s corporate office, as well as marketing and administrative employees.

On a conference call on July 12, InBev told industry analysts that it will keep all twelve of Anheuser-Busch’s breweries open, and that it does not expect job cuts among union employees.

But a recent report in Reuters warned that InBev may seek to cut costs by replacing full-time union jobs with part-time jobs.

Members at the Baldwinsville, N.Y. brewery have already seen some job loss this year. “About ten members have retired in Brewing, Brewing Maintenance, and Packaging, but management hasn’t filled those positions,” reports Katie Brutcher, a maintenance Teamster in Local 1149.

InBev has made no guarantee that it will keep all union jobs.

Talks for our new contract will start in 2009. InBev will be watching to see if we stick together. “If ever there was a time to be a union, now’s the time,” Brutcher said.