Striking workers at the Gimli plant that makes Crown Royal whiskey won’t be going back to work after union members rejected the latest offer.

On Friday, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832 voted down the latest offer from Diageo, the company that operates the plant.

In a press release, UFCW Local 832 President Jeff Traeger said Diageo made workers a better offer than the one they had already rejected in early March. When the union brought the new offer to workers, however, they voted 81 per cent to reject it.

The continuing strike puts into question the plant’s ability to keep up with demand for the whiskey. Last November, a British-based expert selected Crown Royal's Northern Harvest Rye as the World Whisky of the Year for 2016.

“This plant makes Crown Royal for the planet,” said UFCW Canada Local 832 President Jeff Traeger. “This is the only plant that makes Crown Royal in the world.”

The company released a statement to CTV regarding the latest rejection, saying they are "disappointed".

"We have demonstrated our willingness to be flexible and have presented a very good offer that includes wage increases ahead of inflation, significant benefits increases, pension improvements, plus additional sick pay among other items. However, the union has refused to reciprocate," a company spokesperson said in an email.

The spokesperson also said the company is "well-positioned" to keep up with demand for Crown Royal, and customers should not see any interruption.

Traeger said no product is being put into a barrel for aging while the strike is on. Only management is on the site and union engineers are there to protect the equipment

“Nothing has gone to the bottling plant since the first week of March,” he said.

The workers have been on strike since March 5.

Sticking points of negotiations include wages, pension, long-term disability coverage and vacation, the union said.

Last month, a spokesperson for Diageo told CTV News that it offered the union a wage increase of 4.5 per cent over three years.

The union will now wait 60 days, and then apply to the Manitoba Labour Board for an independent arbitrator, who Traeger expects will impose a one-year deal.

The union leader said he expects the plant’s 53 workers to return to work by the end of May or the beginning of June.