Molson’s Montreal brewery workers vote for strike action

Staff at Molson Coors’ Montreal brewery have voted in favour of strike action.

The employees are dissatisfied with offers on salaries, pensions and collective insurance, according to a spokesperson for trade union Teamsters, which represents the interests of 550 brewery workers at Molson in Montreal, including bottling and delivery workers.

Union members employed at the Molson Brewery voted in favour of strike action with a landslide majority of 87%, according to a statement on the Teamsters website.

The vote came after brewery staff rejected offers of concessions made by Molson Brewery for a second time on Sunday 25 February.

The news comes months after Molson Coors announced plans to construct a new Canadian brewery in Longueuil instead of modernising its current headquarters in neighbouring Montreal just 10km away.

In July, the company announced it would be building a new brewery instead of modernising its current building, which is not far from the St. Lawrence River on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal, reports CBC.

Though a strike can now be called whenever the union deems appropriate, the negotiating committee wants to avoid a work stoppage and “wishes to resume the talks as soon as possible,” according to the Teamsters website.

Molson Coors has been approached for comment.