Teamsters vote to ratify a 5-year labor agreement with Anheuser-Busch, avoiding strike

Teamsters working for Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch have voted to ratify a labor agreement with the company. The union said Tuesday that the five-year contract was ratified with 86% support. The deal covers 5,000 unionized employees at Anheuser-Busch, including brewers, packagers and warehouse workers. The union said workers will get wage increases totaling 23% over the life of the contract, plus a $2,500 ratification bonus. The Teamsters had threatened a strike at the brewer’s 12 U.S. plants if an agreement wasn’t reached by last week. Before the deadline, the two sides said they had reached a tentative agreement that was put to union members for a ratification vote.