Anheuser-Busch workers in Cartersville ready to strike if needed

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. - Hundreds of Anheuser-Busch workers at the brewery in Cartersville are set to join thousands of workers across the U.S. in an upcoming strike.

Negotiations between the Teamsters Union representing the workers and the company have been ongoing since October.

But union leaders say the company has failed to meet their most crucial demands during negotiations.

Now Anheuser-Busch has until Feb. 29 to reach an agreement before workers start striking on March 1.

And teamsters leadership says with the way negotiations have been going, a strike seems imminent.

The 400 unionized workers at the Cartersville brewery have been doing practice pickets to prepare for the strike.

 "This is a very historic moment for us...for us, this is the most important moment in our union's history," said Mitchell Vann, Principal Officer for Teamsters Local 1129, which represents the 400 Cartersville workers.

Vann says they're fighting for increased wages, better pension plans and, most of all, job security.

"Protecting against layoffs or moving people around if a layoff is to occur, keeping them within the Anheuser-Busch system," he said.

Vann says the company has not made any progress in negotiations with the union on this particular issue.

"They refuse to address that issue. In fact, they've counter-proposed with proposals that actually harm the workers going forward. And they are trying to restructure the breweries in a way that reduces headcount and reduces job opportunities at each brewery," he said.

FOX 5 reached out to Anheuser-Busch for an interview about this issue and the negotiations.

A company spokesperson told us in a statement, "Our top priority remains securing a contract that recognizes and rewards our hardworking employees and continues to provide the best jobs in the beer industry."

The spokesperson went on to say that their beer supplies shouldn't be affected by any potential union action, saying "Anheuser-Busch's iconic American brands will continue to be available to our valued customers and consumers across the country."

But Vann disputes that claim and says customers will notice if workers go on strike.

"I believe there definitely would be a disruption... I don't think the company would be in a position to continuously put out a lot of beer. And so for that reason, I think that we're in a pretty good spot," he said.

Vann says the union is ready to pay workers $1,000/week for strike pay, which he says will enable them to strike for as long as it takes to get the deal they want.

"We want to make sure that we get what we're owed and what we deserve," he said.

Local 1129 has more practice pickets scheduled for next week.