Memphis Brewery Workers Vote to Join BCTGM
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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10 Dec Memphis Brewery Workers Vote to Join BCTGM

Posted at 17:40h in Organizing by

In the midst of a pandemic and in the face of an unrelenting, anti-union campaign, workers at Blue’s City Brewing Company in Memphis, Tenn. stood strong in solidarity and voted to have a voice in their workplace with BCTGM Local 149 (Memphis).

There are currently 550 workers employed at the plant with several hundred additional workers expected to join the workforce as the company plans to expand the facility.

“Faith without hard work is nothing. With the very best team of organizers, I pushed on these last two weeks doing everything I could to make sure the workers were educated on their rights and felt safe in their decision to become members of our union. We won because they believed we could.”

– Local 149 President Letitia Malone.

Maintenance workers at the 1.3 million-square-foot plant reached out to Malone in late March because of poor treatment, favoritism and racial inequality. However, once workers in production learned about the BCTGM and how a union contact could help them, the campaign to become union members rapidly grew.

BCTGM International Organizers Darrell Copeland, Jason Thomas and Nate Zeff assisted Malone with the organizing campaign.

Jason Thomas, Darrell Copeland, Nate Zeff

BCTGM International Director of Organization John Price praised the efforts of the organizing team saying, “The enthusiasm for the union was so high in that plant and it is a true testament to how hard the organizers worked to communicate with workers and build support in the most challenging times.”

Because in-person meetings during the pandemic has been limited, the organizers used creative ways to educate and communicate with the workers throughout the campaign including text messaging, animated videos, social media and small outdoor union gatherings while wearing masks and social distancing. In addition, Malone made herself available to speak with workers from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“The company hired a notorious union-busting firm to run a vigorous anti-union campaign and violated federal labor law, including firing key union supporters. But workers stood strong and prevailed,” notes Price.

“This organizing team was excellent and I am proud of everyone. This is what it is all about – the people believed in you and trusted in the BCTGM. This is a big win for all of us.”

– BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton

Blue’s City Brewing makes beer and hard seltzers under contracts with other companies, including White Claw, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Shipyard Brewing. City Brewing has plants in LaCrosse, Wisc. and Latrobe, Pa., both of which are unionized.

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