Richard Becker

Opinion contributor

Production work came to a halt at the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg on Sept. 7 and at the company’s bottling facility in Nelson County. The workers, who are represented by three different unions, have been in prolonged and fractious negotiations with the company for several weeks. After the company issued its “last, best, and final offer,” the workers nearly-unanimously rejected it and voted to go on strike.

But this is no ordinary strike. What’s happening at Four Roses has implications for both the broader labor movement, as well as future generations of American workers.

Kirin Brewery Company, the parent company of Four Roses, has proposed a partial “two-tier” contract, in which future workers will have less paid time off than current workers. Two-tier union contracts have become increasingly common over the past several decades, but have only recently begun to capture the public’s attention. If you’ve followed the brewing unrest at UPS over their contract, you may have already heard of the concept. Essentially, a two-tier contract creates a second level of benefits and/or wages for workers hired after the effective date of the contract, while wages and benefits for current workers remain generally the same.

Background:Union workers strike at Four Roses distillery just before bourbon fest

Obviously, companies seek to implement such systems in order to cut labor costs over the long term. And the evil genius of them is that their likelihood of passing in a vote by the workers is quite high because in theory, current workers have nothing to lose from such a setup. That’s what makes these workers’ resistance to the company’s proposal so uniquely selfless. These workers understand that two-tier contracts are potentially devastating for the survival of a vibrant American labor movement.

These types of contracts create a divided workplace atmosphere. To give a hypothetical example, two workers on an assembly line working side by side and doing the same job, may have wildly different rates of pay, with the worker who’s been at the company three years making $25/hour with possible top-out pay of $40/hour over the course of his career, while the newer worker makes $17/hr with a maximum top-out pay of $30/hour by the time he retires.

The story around this strike goes further than two-tier contracts, though. Generally, unions have come to expect companies to demand concessions during difficult times in the industry. But right now, the bourbon industry, and Four Roses in particular, is booming. Global demand for Kentucky’s signature spirit and profits for bourbon manufacturers are through the roof, and Four Roses has just completed a multi-million dollar expansion of their production facility. That leaves only one explanation for why Four Roses is offering its workers the worst contract since Prohibition: corporate greed.

Read this:This National Bourbon Month, up your game with our bourbon IQ boosters

Just as President Reagan’s firing of striking air traffic controllers nearly 40 years ago set off a new era of anti-union sentiment among American businesses, so too has Gov. Bevin’s relentless assault on workers’ rights – particularly passage of the so-called “Right to Work” law – unleashed a wave of anti-worker attacks by Kentucky employers. Emboldened by a government that tells them that, in the words of Gordon Gecko, “greed is good,” Four Roses and other employers across the commonwealth are waging a campaign of attrition on workers both union, and non-union. And at the end of the day, it won’t just be union workers who suffer.

The whole country should be watching this strike. How the two sides end this dispute will likely help drive the next phase of negotiations at UPS and other companies locked in similar conflict.

As Kentucky celebrates the Bourbon Heritage Festival this week, all Kentuckians should unite in supporting the workers putting it all on the line to ensure a brighter future for all workers.

You may like:National Bourbon Month: Drink up at these 5 must-try Kentucky events

Richard Becker is a union organizer with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, SEIU in Louisville.

