Workers at City Brewing’s Latrobe, Pennsylvania-based facility have returned to work after going on strike last week.
A new contract between City management and IUE-CWA Locals 22 and 144 was ratified on Saturday, after being tentatively agreed to last Thursday, TribLive reported. The four-year contract passed with 78% of the vote of members of both locals.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with IUE-CWA union on a contract that provides strong pay and benefits for our employees,” a City Brewery spokesperson told TribLive. “We appreciate the work that the union negotiating committee put in throughout this process and the continued hard work and dedication of our team.”
The strike marked the first work stoppage at the facility since the early 1980s, one worker told Pittsburgh Action News WTAE. Workers had accused City of trying to circumvent seniority, weakening the union’s position, forcing employees to work 12-hour shifts and eliminating overtime pay, the outlet reported.
IUE-CWA Local 22 represents about 50 workers at the brewery, while IUE-CWA Local 144 represents about 145, according to TribLive.
The three complaints IUE-CWA Local 22 filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over allegations that City leadership has made unilateral changes to a contract, refused to furnish information, taken coercive actions and changed the terms and conditions of employment remain open.
The union filed a fourth complaint with the NLRB on March 16 alleging that City engaged in coercive statements, refused to bargain or bargained in bad faith and refused to furnish information.
Union leaders told TribLive they expect a ruling on those complaints “in the near future.”
City is the nation’s largest contract brewer with a client list that includes Boston Beer Company and Pabst. City Brewing is Boston Beer’s largest contract brewing partner, and produced 33% of the company’s shipment volume in 2020 and 32% in 2021.
Last year, City was acquired by a consortium of investors that includes Pabst owner Blue Ribbon Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners, Oaktree Capital Management and City management.
The Latrobe brewery, once owned by former Rolling Rock maker Latrobe Brewing, can brew eight times daily; batches average 525 barrels in volume. Anheuser-Busch acquired it from Latrobe Brewing in 2006, but shifted Rolling Rock production to its Newark, New Jersey, brewery. City acquired the facility the same year.
City also operates breweries in La Crosse, Wisconsin; Memphis, Tennessee; and Irwindale, California.