Milwaukee Brewery Workers Begin a Citywide Strike

On May 14, 1953, more than 7,000 employees at six Milwaukee breweries stopped work after contract negotiations failed. Brewery Workers Local 9 sought higher wages, shorter hours, improved pensions and health benefits, and additional holidays as new machinery increased productivity. The strike halted production at Schlitz, Pabst, Blatz, Miller, Gettelman, and Independent Milwaukee for 76 days. Agreements reached in late July brought wage and benefit gains, demonstrating how organized workers helped shape the economics of America’s leading brewing city.