Bailey Loosemore

@bloosemore

Hundreds of Jim Beam employees at two Kentucky plants could be back to work next week if they approve a new union contract Friday.

For the past six days, 252 distillery and bottling workers have been on strike following failed negotiations with company officials and an outside consulting firm concerning a contract that ended Oct. 14.

But Janelle Mudd, president of Union Food and Commercial Workers 111D, said Wednesday night that union leadership plan to present a new proposal to the employees Thursday morning, and she hopes they'll approve it the following day.

"They really stepped up for us this time and have really given us some good terms," Mudd said of the new proposal, though she declined to describe the contract's terms until after the employee meeting. "We feel really good about it."

► RELATED: Jim Beam strike | What are the issues?

A statement from Beam Suntory - the distillery's parent company - echoed the sentiments, saying the business has worked hard to address employees' concerns.

"Demand for bourbon has accelerated considerably since the last renewal, and that's created a lot more work within our operations," the statement read. "We share the concerns of our valued union team members ... and we hope this agreement will be ratified when it is put to a vote."

Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing since April, Mudd said, but they came to a standstill this month after employees voted down two proposals and entered the strike.

The workers' complaints have since received national attention for their somewhat unusual nature. Instead of asking for more money or hours, the employees are requesting less overtime, with some saying they've worked 60- to 80-hour weeks to keep up with production demands.

"For the last couple years, most of it has been mandatory," Mudd said. "You didn't have any option. A little bit of overtime, you won't hear a peep out of people. But when it gets to be that much week after week, it gets to be too much."

Mudd said she thinks a meeting between plant management and 20 employees over the weekend helped members of upper management understand the union's concerns.

The managers present at the Sunday meeting were different than a group of Jim Beam managers and representatives from Oak Bridges Consulting - a labor relations firm based in Canada - that the union had met with in the past, Mudd said.

"The people who started out negotiations were either really out of touch or were given the wrong direction," Mudd said. "I can't really speak for them. Once the new group came in, they listened, they understood and they want the same things we want. So it seems we're on the same page."

Mudd said she understands changes won't take place at the facilities in Clermont and Boston, Kentucky, right away. But she hopes that, after the distillery's busy season, the company can hire new full-time employees to help assist current staff.

Mudd, a Jim Beam employee of 10 years, also expressed gratitude to everyone who supported the union during the strike.

"We were really shocked it had as much strength as it did," Mudd said. "We hope it will hep other unions that struggle with the same issues we were having."

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.