Can you imagine if there wasn’t any beer in the United States on Superbowl Sunday? It would be chaos- the Tea-Baggers and so-called Liberals would join forces and riot in the streets, grocery stores would be pillaged for any remaining bottles of brew, and the commercials during the Superbowl wouldn’t nearly be as funny as they usually are.

It would be a nightmare.

Denmark might be facing a similar situation after a strike at the Carlsberg Brewing Company because the strike will stop beer distribution throughout Denmark. Beer-drinkers in the country are really worried about the possibility of a beer shortage because of the up-coming World Cup. 

The employees have a great reason for striking, however- the workers are striking in response to the company’s move to limit company drinking during lunches, breaks, and throughout the work day by removing coolers of beer from the workplace.

Prior to the new regulations, those working for Carlsberg (except for the drivers) could drink all day long as long as they weren’t drunk. The truck drivers are also striking to show how upset they are by the new law. Because Carlsberg almost has a monopoly on beer in the country, the strike is pretty serious.

What an amazing union! Can you really imagine having the right to drink alcohol all day long at work as part of your contract? If your company took your right to drink on the job away, would you strike and risk losing your job and gaining the animosity of an entire country just in order to keep drinking?

The strike itself leads me to believe that the employees might just be drinking more than 1-2 bottles of Carlsberg a day or it wouldn’t be so important to them as a fringe benefit. I know someone who once worked at Frito Lay and could eat all the Fritos and Doritos they wanted, but I don’t think that she would have striked to keep the right to eat chips.

Beer, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. I even know a number of people who would love to be paid in beer instead of cash. I imagine that once pot is entirely legal there will be quite a few “employees” who are paid in a different sort of green and would be willing to strike to keep that right.