Dozens of workers at Molson-Coors are on strike.
Machinists with the company say they could not reach an agreement with the company on their latest contract.
The strike leader told TMJ4's Mariam Mackar that the biggest thing he and his colleagues are fighting for is maintaining a work-life balance.
The striking machinists are in charge of all the mechanics behind brewing beer for Molson-Coors — from fixing fermentation tanks to bottling beer. Workers tell Mackar that the language in the proposed contract would impact work-life balance by limiting days of the week they can take off and forcing weekend shifts for an already shortened staff.
"I know there's talk about wages, wages are always a thing with contract negotiations but the word on the street with all the guys here, they're trying to maintain our status quo and our flexibility. And the company decided that wasn't the case and they wanted to take that away from us," says Chris Mecha, the Machinist Shop Chairman for the Molson Coors Miller machinists.
Working at the Milwaukee based brewery runs in Mecha's family.
Watch: Mariam Mackar explains why Molson-Coors employees are striking:
"My father started working here back in the day, so it's kind of like a second generation here, I like that, it's always cool to work in the beer business."
Mecha says working as a machinist in the brewery is a labor of love for these men and women, who are hoping negotiations continue so they can return back to the job.
Katherine Goodall is another machinist who has worked at brewery for two decades. She says a smaller workforce already pushes their team to work longer hours which is why protecting their time off is vital.
"We've gotten less and less machinists over the last 20 years," explained Goodall. "They retire, it's hard to attract new blood when our contracts aren't as attractive as some other places are."
Watch: Molson-Coors employees take to the picket line.
Union representatives tell TMJ4 forty-three machinists are on strike and that they'll stay on the picket line until they get a contract they believe is fair.
A representative from Molson-Coors said in a statement that they are hopeful for a resolution, and that the strike should not impact beer retail in Milwaukee.
"We've made a competitive offer that exceeds local-market rates for similar unionized roles and we're hopeful for a resolution that benefits everyone. In the meantime, we don't expect an impact to the availability of our products at retail," Molson Coors' Chief Communications Officer Adam Collins said.
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