The workers at Blues City Brewing Company overcame a ruthless, anti-union campaign and voted on December 10, 2020 to join BCTGM Local 149 (Memphis, Tenn.). However, Jasmine White was fired before she could vote UNION YES.

As a single mother of four children, Jasmine needed her job as a machine operator at Blues City Brewing but says she worried about her co-workers first. The harassment and bullying was intolerable so she decided to start a petition to gauge union interest among her co-workers.

“I managed to get 50 names the first day and that alone motivated me. By the end of the month, I had more than 120 names and that gave me courage to keep going,” recalls White.

Once management learned that Jasmine was a key union leader among the workers trying to organize, she became a target in their anti-union campaign as they increased their efforts to intimidate and cultivate fear within the plant.

White was harassed and interrogated daily. Management would not allow her to take bathroom breaks unless she was accompanied by a female supervisor. At one point, she was subjected to a body search as management sought to find anything associated with the union in her possession that would prove she was engaging in union activity.

After endless harassment and threats, Jasmine was fired the night of July 7, 2020 and marched out of the plant by management. What the company didn’t count on was that her efforts to organize the workers of Blues City Brewing would only intensify from the outside.

“I just couldn’t turn my back. Even though I was no longer with the company, I felt like they needed someone to lead from the outside. That way they’d have a better chance to win the election. A lot of people were fearful,” recalls White.

According to BCTGM Director of Organization John Price, the company fired White to intimidate and send fear into the hearts of the workers and force them to vote against joining the union.

“It would have been worth any amount of money to the company at that point. But now they have the worst of both worlds. They have a unionized shop and they still have to deal with Jasmine and serious unfair labor practice charges,” notes Price.

The National Labor Relations Board Memphis Region has found enough merit to Jasmine’s unfair labor practice charges to issue an official complaint.  The NLRB is currently in negotiations with the company and the union in an attempt to settle the charges without having to hold an official hearing before a Federal Administrative Law Judge.

“All along I’ve thought, what do I have to lose? If I go out, I will go out with a bang and they will remember me for a good reason,” says White. “I really care about my co-workers and they needed me to lead the way. Even if I never realize the benefits of the union – they will. And in the end, the very best revenge is getting a union in that plant,” concludes White.