When one thinks about essential services that a government can perform; things like sanitation, fire, police, education and water systems may come to mind. In Lithuania, the courts have decided to add beer to the list. So inalienable is the service of beer, that the judicial high priests of barley and hops have decided nothing may stand in its way–not even a pesky little labor union and their strike efforts. How dare they make this country dry?! Yes, whether rain, sleet or snow the suds shall flow, especially for those in the global 1 percent at the world’s 4th largest brewery.

A planned strike by union workers at the Carlsberg brewery in Lithuania has been declared illegal by an outrageous court decision which is now the subject of an ILO complaint.

A new motto is in order for Lithuania and I propose that it be: don’t give me liberty, just give me beer! It would seem that Carlsberg has been studying what other brewers like Yuengling have done as America’s oldest union busting brewery. But even Yuengling didn’t get the US Supreme Court to declare beer an essential service! I just hope that the next time US President Barack Obama decides to hold a “beer summit” that he seriously makes sure none of these sorry brewers are at the table.