Brewbound Frontlines: Union Efforts at Craft Breweries
Very few of the 8,275 craft breweries in the United States operate with union labor. Efforts by workers to change that have been met with mixed results.
Last year, workers at San Francisco’s iconic legacy brewery, Anchor Brewing Company, were first met with union-busting tactics, but ultimately workers and management agreed to a 3-year contact.
Just two months ago, in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, efforts by the hospitality staff at Minneapolis’ Surly Brewing put the craft brewing industry once again under the microscope for its lack of union labor. Just two days after staff at Surly’s beer hall announced their intention to form a union, the company said it would shutter that beer hall at the end of October, citing financial struggles caused by the pandemic.
Nevertheless, a union election was held at Surly in October, which fell one vote short of reaching the majority needed to pass. Efforts to unionize at another Minneapolis craft brewery, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, were more successful, as management recognized the workers’ union.
This week’s Brewbound Frontlines discusses why few craft breweries employ union labor. Joining this week’s panel are:
- Evan Sallee, CEO and co-founder at Fair State Brewing Cooperative in Minneapolis;
- Patrick Machel, bartender and shop steward, at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco;
- Dave Infante, editor of Fingers — a newsletter about drinking culture, being online, and beyond — in Charleston, South Carolina
Brewbound Frontlines is a bi-weekly live-streamed discussion series with beer industry leaders and watchers on the business adjustments being made during the COVID-19 crisis and the future of the industry. Frontlines is an extension of Brewbound’s leading B2B industry reporting. New episodes stream every other Thursday at 3 p.m. ET at Brewbound.com.
Past Episodes / Related Videos
00:27:27
00:20:42
Mar 22, 2023 at 6:39 PM
San Leandro, California’s 21st Amendment Brewery announced in February that it has transformed its 120,000 sq. ft production facility into a state of the art contract brewery.
00:27:09
00:25:28
00:48:01
00:18:33
Apr 7, 2022 at 2:48 PM
Walmart craft beer merchant Adrienne Freeman discusses bringing the Black is Beautiful collaboration beer project to the big box retailer’s shelves.
00:48:12
Mar 29, 2022 at 1:00 PM
Leaders within the craft cider industry share how regional cideries are growing in 2022.
00:26:59
00:30:15
00:22:45
Aug 25, 2021 at 4:04 PM
COOP president Sean Mossman joins Brewbound Frontlines to discuss the early returns on the Sonic Drive-In hard seltzer brand.
00:25:22
Aug 17, 2021 at 12:40 PM
Rhinegeist Brewery co-founder Bryant Goulding discusses the decision to step back and hand the reins over to a beer industry outsider.
00:17:12
Aug 16, 2021 at 12:15 PM
Bump Williams of Bump Williams Consulting believes another round of pantry loading -- or fridge stocking -- is coming. Williams discuss what producers need to consider for the rest of 2021.
00:54:36
00:34:47
Jun 24, 2021 at 1:30 PM
Saucey founder and CEO Chris Vaughn discusses the growth of the e-commerce on-demand delivery service as the safer-at-home orders and on-premise shutdown took hold.
00:31:16
May 27, 2021 at 11:52 AM
How can a craft brewery succeed in Half Time Beverage's stores and e-commerce platform? Jason Daniels, COO for the NY craft beer store, explains during the latest Retail Pulse edition of Frontlines.
00:51:02
Apr 14, 2021 at 10:44 PM
Whole Foods Market’s Mary Guiver joins Brewbound Frontlines to discuss the natural food store chain's resets, beer’s place within the company’s stores, and the influx of "fourth category" options.
01:02:04
Mar 25, 2021 at 2:32 PM
Buffalo Wild Wings beverage product and program innovation manager Jason Murphy joins Brewbound Frontlines to discuss the chicken wing chain’s 2021 mandate program, local beer and more.
00:33:17
Feb 18, 2021 at 1:18 PM
Five months after taking over as CEO of Stone Brewing, Maria Stipp discusses the path forward for the top 10 craft brewery.
00:57:40
Nov 12, 2020 at 1:47 PM
This week’s Brewbound Frontlines discusses why few craft breweries employ union labor.
01:00:58
Oct 15, 2020 at 5:52 PM
An expert panel of marketers will discuss how they have changed the way breweries communicate with consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:47:25
Oct 1, 2020 at 3:01 PM
Julia Herz joins Frontlines to discuss her future plans, the state of the industry and the growing gig economy for craft brewing professionals.
01:01:28
Sep 17, 2020 at 6:02 PM
Leaders from brands in the fast-growing non-alcoholic beer segment discuss consumer adoption, brand building and the effect of the pandemic on sales.
01:01:58
Sep 3, 2020 at 4:53 PM
Leaders from two breweries and a tourism company discuss the effects of COVID on beer tourism in the U.S. and planning for the future.
01:00:45
Aug 13, 2020 at 5:19 PM
We discuss the influence of private equity money on the craft brewing industry and the current state of M&A activity in the brewing space.
01:04:16
Aug 6, 2020 at 6:25 PM
We discuss upcoming beer festival Fresh Fest, which showcases Black-owned breweries, and industry pros share taproom staff management best practices.
01:02:31
Jul 30, 2020 at 7:30 PM
The leaders of Ballast Point will discuss their journey from running small upstart Kings & Convicts to making one of the biggest acquisitions of 2019.
01:01:24
Jul 23, 2020 at 8:09 PM
We analyze hard seltzer sales trends during the coronavirus pandemic, and discuss how brands are competing in the fast-growing segment.
01:07:39
Jul 16, 2020 at 8:14 PM
We discuss efforts companies and organizations are taking to make the craft beer industry more diverse.
01:05:08
Jul 14, 2020 at 12:48 AM
Border X Brewing, discuss their collaboration with the Mujeres Brew Club on a new taproom project aimed at empowering female brewers.
01:08:15
Jul 2, 2020 at 12:00 AM
We discuss temporary and permanent changes to retail regulations for craft brewers, open container laws and direct-to-consumer shipping.
01:04:40
Jun 18, 2020 at 12:00 AM
Leaders of four popular Massachusetts craft breweries discuss their companies’ growth in 2019 and how they’re faring during the COVID-19 pandemic.
01:05:25
Jun 11, 2020 at 12:00 AM
We discuss the Black is Beautiful collaboration initiative, and Buffalo Wild Wings beverage innovation manager Jason Murphy shares reopening plans.
01:04:13
Jun 4, 2020 at 12:00 AM
We discuss beer sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, how the summer selling season is shaping up and their projections for the rest of 2020.
01:05:15
May 28, 2020 at 12:00 AM
Leaders from Stone Brewing, Revolution Brewing and Rogue Ales & Spirits discuss what’s happening with their businesses as the COVID-19 crisis evolves.
01:03:15
May 21, 2020 at 12:00 AM
We discuss the pandemic’s effect on e-commerce and how brewers can optimize this channel with leaders from Rabobank, Drizly and GoPuff.
01:11:36
May 14, 2020 at 12:00 AM
For breweries in states whose governors have permitted reopening, owners and decision makers are weighing their options.
01:05:32
May 11, 2020 at 12:00 AM
We examine how breweries in California, New York, and Illinois are operating, and how the guilds and the BA are helping during the COVID-19 crisis.
01:05:46
May 4, 2020 at 9:38 PM
Industry leaders will share how they’re responding to current challenges as well as discuss long-term implications for the beer industry.
01:02:19
Apr 24, 2020 at 3:19 PM
We discuss industry conditions in states where social distancing measures have not yet been put in place and how consumers have reacted.
01:02:52
Apr 24, 2020 at 3:18 PM
Explore how popular taproom breweries are adjusting their business models after the closure of on-premise locations.