After failed contract negotiations, 252 Jim Beam employees have gone on strike. The walkouts occurred at two of the bourbon producer’s Kentucky distilleries on Saturday. Union members have said that now that Kentucky bourbon has regained popularity, they have been overworked. Jim Beam offered the workers wage increases, but the union is still concerned about the 80 hour work weeks and lack of family time. Workers are pushing the company to hire more full-time employees and reduce overtime hours. The whiskey workers’ contracts expired in August.
See "Jim Beam whiskey makers go on strike", Bailey Loosemore, USA Today, October 17, 2016