Jim Beam workers reject new contract offer as strike looms

FRANKFORT, KY>>Another round of voting has had the same results in a labor dispute for the company behind Jim Beam whiskey, as workers at two Kentucky distilleries rejected a contract offer Friday with a strike looming.

The vote by union workers at Beam distilleries in Clermont and Boston came hours before the existing contract was set to expire for the world’s largest bourbon producer.

United Food and Commercial Workers union official Tommy Ballard said Friday evening that workers rejected the revised contract proposal by a wide margin. He declined to say what changes the company made to the offer or what terms prompted employees to turn it down.

The company did not immediately respond to the latest vote. The classic American whiskey brand is owned by Suntory Holdings Ltd., a Japanese beverage company.

The current contract ran through Friday. Earlier in the week, union members voted overwhelming in favor of going on strike after rejecting the company’s offer.

The company came back with the revised offer.

After a Tuesday evening vote, company executive Kevin Smith said the whiskey maker was committed to “resolving this matter expeditiously.”

Union official Janelle Mudd had listed several issues causing the dispute.

“Some key issues include the following: job security in regards to the high number and excessive use of agency workers, failure to honor and recognize seniority, vague and open-ended contract language, poor labor scheduling resulting in burdensome and strenuous work hours that have led to an undesirable work/home balance,” she said in a statement after Tuesday’s vote.

A walkout wasn’t expected to affect the current flow of Jim Beam bourbon to stores and bars because bourbon ages years before bottling.