A strike by machinists at the Molson Coors brewery on Milwaukee’s West Side has entered its second week.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have been picketing outside the brewery along West State Street since their contract with the company expired early last week.
“We’re out here because we got a last, best and final offer on our new contract from the company,” union Chairman Chris Mecha said. “The guys were disappointed with the attack on our benefits and our work-life balance. When we go into negotiations, wages are always a topic of discussion, too. But most of us here aren’t happy with our work-life balance.”
Mecha said the IAM had hoped to avoid a strike, but the 43 IAM members at the brewery voted to reject the company’s final offer and overwhelmingly voted to do so. IAM Locals 66 and 510 in Milwaukee represent mechanics and machine repair workers at the brewery. “We do any mechanical repairs inside the brewery, whatever it takes to get the beer made and all the way out the door and shipped,” Mecha said.
Primary issues that lead to stalled contract negotiations include work shift hours, weekend hours, rotating shifts and vacation blackout dates, he said.
Molson Coors responded to requests for comment with a statement from Adam Collins, chief communications officer. “We’ve made a competitive offer that exceeds local-market rates for similar unionized roles and we’re hopeful for a resolution that benefits everyone,” Collins said in the statement. “In the meantime, we don’t expect an impact to the availability of our products at retail.”
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The sprawling 80-acre brewing complex, which had been the headquarters of Miller Brewing Co. since 1855, now produces a wide range of brands, including Miller High Life, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Blue Moon and Milwaukee’s Best. The brewery also handles production for other brewers on a contract basis.
Mecha said attrition has led to the elimination of 16 jobs within the union group over the past four years. “Molson Coors hasn’t replaced them, and these guys here have stepped up over the time to help the company out,” said Mecha, who has been among the pickets who have gathered daily in the Miller Valley.
The number of unionized machinists at the plant is down from more than 80 when Mecha first arrived at the brewery. “Back in 2001, when I started here, I think I was 83rd on the seniority list,” he said. “That’s obviously dwindled. Back in the early 1990s, it was like 100 and they’ve reduced it and reduced it some more.”
Mecha said the union would like to see the number of machinists at the brewery boosted from the current 43 to more than 60, which he described as an “ideal” target.
“We’ve worked hand in hand and have had a good working relationship with (the company),” he said. “We walked into this contract negotiation hoping to make changes where we could entertain new talent. We’re not one of the highest-paid skilled trades (shop) in the area. We know that we’re not competing with GE or Harley-Davidson with their hourly wages, but we’d like to attract new talent with hopefully some better benefits, maybe a better wage increase, but we’re just not seeing it.”
The IAM is one of multiple unions that represent employees at the Milwaukee brewery, the largest of which is Brewery Workers Local 9, which represents hourly production workers.
The brewery has operated under the Molson Coors Beverage Co. business since 2020. It previously operated as part of MillerCoors, which formed in 2008 when Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing Co. joined forces.
“I think things have gotten better over time,” Mecha said. “There’s definitely a different kind of environment here. I thought it was more flexible, more forgiving, more understanding of lifestyle. When I started here 23 years ago, it was very hard-nosed, but we’ve worked with the company to try to get certain benefits and maintain them. We’ve had a good working relationship with the company.”
Mecha said the machinists’ group is prepared for an extended strike.
“If this takes us being out here pounding the streets for a while, we’ve told our membership that this is what’s going to have to happen for us to stand up to the company,” Mecha said.
He noted that a strike by members of the Teamsters union at the Molson Coors facility in Fort Worth, Texas, lasted for three months before being settled in May. A Teamsters strike at the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. in Chippewa Falls, also owned by Molson Coors, took eight weeks to settle in 2023.
