LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jim Beam ended a nearly weeklong strike at two bourbon distilleries in Kentucky on Friday, toasting a labor settlement that answers the workers’ key demand with a commitment to hire more full-time staff.
Union members picketing since last Saturday approved the company’s latest contract offer on a 204-19 vote and will resume producing whiskey Monday, said United Food and Commercial Workers union official Tommy Ballard.
“We can get back to being a family,” longtime Beam employee Bill Ball said.
The walkout began after workers at Jim Beam distilleries at Clermont and Boston turned down an earlier offer from the world’s top bourbon producer. Their main complaint centered not on money, but time with their families.
