Strike disrupts beer deliveries in St. Louis

Modern Brewery Age, May 30, 2005

AP--Anheuser-Busch beers could be in tight supply in the brewer's hometown this holiday weekend. Workers for a St. Louis-based beer wholesaler are on strike as the Memorial Day weekend approaches, disrupting deliveries of Anheuser-Busch Cos. beers to retailers, taverns and Busch Stadium in the company's hometown.

Lohr Distributing Co. workers--about 25 full-time and about a dozen who work as needed--began their strike Sunday night, after working without a contract since February, said Dan McCay, president of the Teamsters Local 600.

Lohr distributes top-selling Anheuser-Busch products in the city.

McCay said bargaining reached a stalemate over Lohr's demands that the drivers--who earn commissions based on how much they deliver--pay higher health care deductibles and get lower commissions.

Teamsters leafletted outside Busch Stadium at the start of a six-game St. Louis Cardinals' homestand this week, and some worried whether the labor dispute would squeeze the ballpark's beer inventories. Without elaborating, Lohr has told local media outlets that the ballpark would not run out of Busch beer.

Consumers were being asked to boycott A-B products inside the city limits as long as the walkout lasts, McCay said.