Anchor Brewing Co. employees are unionizing

So for the union contract to make the workplace worse, you're implying that previously Anchor management let people take breaks and lunch whenever and for as long as they'd like and take as much vacation, sick days and other time off without the company's OK? And now that ends?

Seems unlikely to me - but, hey, neither of us really knows but it'd make me wonder why the movement to organize happened if the place had previously been that "laid back". (Might explain why Maytag and then the Skyy Vodka Boys sold out - and why the Japanese signed the contract ).

 

Now that these folks are Union lets say they want to go to another brewery to work. This new brewery is not union, so are they barred from working for any Non-Union business? Curious about this because most breweries (Smaller/Mid size) are not union, so did they just force themselves to having to go to another union brewery only?? Anyone with info on this? I am really curious how this works if they decided to move and the local brewery hiring is not union, are they barred from working there.

 

Taft-Hartley essentially outlawed the "Closed Shop" but, as noted, some union contracts do require the paying of union dues when hired, depending on state labor law.

But exactly how would a union "bar" a former member, no longer an employee at the brewery covered by the contract from changing jobs and working at another company, brewery or otherwise, union or non-union?

 

OK, thanks for info.

I was under the belief that if your a union worker, part of your union contract states that you cannot work for a non-union shop? If you choose to leave your current employer say to relocate or if your spouse takes a new job. When the person leaves they no longer work for Anchor but they are still an active member of the union they joined no? So I was curious if this then dictated who they work for, I know that they won't allow you to take a non-union job when your an active member of the union. I guess you could leave the union at that point, but I was not sure how easy that is either, are their costs with leaving?

I know they have a contract with Anchor but are they not now a member of a certain local? They probably are paying union dues for their insurance and pension no?

 

Ah, I was thinking now that they joined the union it was not very easy to leave. Was not sure if there was some clause in their contract stating you had to stay so long, etc. Sounds like you can just walk.

 

Not exactly. It just left it to the states.

 

I was a union member for over 20 years (Secretary, Treasurer, negotiating committee) and I agree completely.
We lived & died by our contracts.

Many people don't realize that contracts create a more orderly workplace. They not only spell out rights, but also obligations from both hourly and management. Most importantly they set up formal methods for grievances against the employer and discipline against the worker.

 

Don't confuse the "Closed Shop" with the "Union Shop" (Here, I'll even quote a "free market" source ).

So-called "Right-to-Work" state laws do prohibit the latter, though some allow the "Agency Shop".

 

I know history is your thing, but calling out a form of union contract that has been illegal for nearly 75 years in the current discussion .... really? Pardon me for assuming you were discussing something relevant to current collective bargaining issues.

Agency shops were essentially struck down in Janus v. AFSCME for public sector unions (which also does not apply here).

 

But with that comment, I wasn't discussing "current collective bargaining issues" - I was responding specifically to a post which asked if a union brewery worker could get a job in a non-union brewery - struck me funny, as some sort of weird mirror-image of the obsolete/prohibited "Closed Shop"...

 

As I said, pardon me.

 

(Hey, my second paragraph "disappeared"... I think I screwed up and deleted it when I edited a misspelling...it went somethin' like this

I don't know, I've always just found blaming "Taft-Hartley" for everything sort of funny in a retro/self-deprecating way, but, yeah, kinda "inside baseball", too. Sort of analogous to the much more common and recent "Thanks, Obama!".

A union buddy and I used to say it whenever we were annoyed with some petty little thing the union did.

"The !@#$ union's not giving out frozen turkeys this year for the Holiday, instead they're handing out coffee mugs and comb/nail clipper sets with the union logo! Damn Taft-Hartley!"

Granted, on a purely humor level, not nearly as funny an Act as "Smoot-Hawley"...

 

Why you don't lead the league in BK average is a constant source of wonder and confusion to me.

Must be another sabermetric I don't fully grasp.

 

"BK" average? ... "Burger King Average" ? No ...Oh, "Bad Karma" ?

Ah, I love (and miss) the late, great Warren Zevon.

A little Christmas Carol* for everyone this morning...

I took a wrong turn
On the astral plane
Now I keep on thinkin'
My luck is gonna change
Someday


* Everyone worships and celebrates the season a little different...

 

It could be good, it could be bad that they're unionizing. Depends upon a lot of things.

Here's my union experience: I worked in a union shop where I paid dues but was not extended union benefits as a summer/part-time worker. Talk about getting the shaftola. They even had this thing called "paycheck poker" where you showed them your check number to be entered in the pool for a weekly prize. Guess what, that was a way to make sure I was not being paid more than they thought I should so they could see anyone's take home.

Anyone else experience that kind of situation?

 

I get the sense that you haven't read the details about their new contract, so the link is below. For the life of me I can't understand why anyone would be against a group of workers in San Francisco negotiating for better pay and benefits.

https://missionlocal.org/2019/12/br...-overwhelmingly-approve-first-union-contract/

 

I'm union. I like it. Great benefits and a stabilized career is nice. But there are drawbacks.

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For Ezell, who commutes from the East Bay and has three young children, this means he can clock out half an hour earlier each day: “For me, it’s like three-and-a-half more weeks I can spend with my family.”
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I think he's living a pipe dream here. We can't clock out early. You either work through your lunch or take your lunch halfway through the day. You follow the rules. They follow their rules. Stealing time is a no no. Be careful what you wish for.