ST. LOUIS — Hundreds of Teamsters from the St. Louis area and elsewhere rallied downtown on Saturday in a show of strength aimed at InBev of Belgium.

InBev is expected to become the new owner of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. by the end of the year when a $52 billion transaction closes. As Teamsters officials prepare to start contract negotiations with Anheuser-Busch on Monday, the union is pushing InBev to demonstrate a firm commitment to union jobs.

"Make no mistake — we're committed to the success of Anheuser-Busch and InBev," Jack Cipriani, director of the Teamsters brewery and soft drink conference, told a crowd assembled at Kiener Plaza. "So far, (InBev) has said all the right things. … InBev, keep your promises!"

InBev has said it expects the $52 billion transaction to have little or no effect on union jobs.

Cipriani stressed the union's efforts to create a new international partnership of unions that represent workers at InBev's breweries in Brazil, Canada, Belgium, elsewhere in Europe and — soon — the United States.

The Teamsters represented about 8,000 Anheuser-Busch employees in the U.S. as of Dec. 31, amounting to more than one-fourth of the brewer's total work force. The five-year labor agreement between Anheuser-Busch and the Teamsters, which represents the majority of the company's domestic brewery workers, is set to expire on Feb. 28.