Creature Comforts vs. Union update: Post-hearing briefs due February 24

 

After a February 9 hearing before a Hearing Officer of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Creature Comforts Brewing Company, LLC, and the Brewing Union of Georgia (BUG) are due to produce their final post-hearing briefs by February 24, 2023.

Back on January 16, Brewing Union of Georgia petitioned the NLRB to represent 73 workers employed by Creature Comforts, a brewery located in Athens, Ga., which is also home to the University of Georgia.

The original petition asked that Brewing Union of Georgia be recognized as the bargaining agent for the following positions in the company:

Research Manager, Quality Lab Specialist, App Development Manager, Sustainability Manager, Cellar Specialist, Brewing Specialist, Safety & Compliance Manager, Packaging Maintenance & Training Manager, Packaging Specialist, Maintenance Specialist, Warehouse Assistant, and Packaging Shift Lead, and Snow Tire Warehouse which include Brewing Lead, Packaging Lead, Production Assistants, Taproom Staff, Taproom Operations Specialist, Taproom Shift Lead, and Taproom Assistant Manager. 

Excluded from the petition were all office employees, confidential employees, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act.

Creature Comforts employed the law firm of Littler Mendelson, P.C., (Atlanta office) to oppose the petition. Littler Mendelson is a labor and employment law firm that specializes in representing management in employment, employee benefits, and labor law matters. 

After the hearing, both sides had until February 21 to provide post-hearing briefs, and at the request of the employer, this was extended until February 24. 

The company had the right to waive the formal hearing but chose instead to proceed in disputing the right of employees to representation. 

The next step in the process is for the NRLB Regional Director to either directing an election, dismiss the case, or reopen the record. 

Most likely if the Regional Director decides for the union, the employer will request a review, and thus a further delay in any election. 

Meanwhile, the union has already claimed that the company is employing “union-busting tactics” to prevent employees from representation. 

According to a report in the Athens Banner-Herald newspaper, "Union organizer Joseph Carter told the Athens Banner-Herald that the union wanted a fair election. 'The main thing that we want the company to do is just to back off,' he said. 'We just want [management] to leave workers alone so they so that they can hold their election vote how they want.' "

Brewing Union of Georgia files unfair labor complaint against Creature Comforts

The effort to organize Creature Comforts Brewing Company, LLC, by the Brewing Union of Georgia (BUG) has resulted in the union filing complaints about unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

While the initial reports surrounding the founding of the union indicated that the process might go smoothly, that appears to have been overly optimistic.

According to a story in the Athens Banner-Herald newspaper, BUG says that the company is actively trying to prevent workers from organizing a union by misinforming workers of their rights and harassing employees who might support the union activities.

The newspaper quotes an organizer as saying:

“The main thing that we want the company to do is just to back off. We just want [management] to leave workers alone so they so that they can hold their election vote how they want."

In response, the company has issued a statement saying that they fully respect their employees’ rights and “are committed to continuing to communicate directly with our employees”.

On its website, Creature Comforts says:

WE EXIST TO FOSTER HUMAN CONNECTION. OUR HOPE IS TO BE A FORCE FOR GOOD IN THE WORLD THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY-LEADING BEVERAGES AND EXPERIENCES.

Below is a copy of the statement issued by Creature Comforts on January 30, 2023.

Brewing Union of Georgia files petition with NLRB to gain recognition for Creature Comforts employee union

The Brewing Union of Georgia (BUG) has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 10, Atlanta, to be recognized as representing employees of Creature Comforts Brewing Company in Athens, Georgia.

Included among the 73 employees who would be covered by the union are:

All full-time and regular part-time Creature Comforts employees working in the following departments/classifications: Southern Mill Warehouse which include Research Manager, Quality Lab Specialist, App Development Manager, Sustainability Manager, Cellar Specialist, Brewing Specialist, Safety & Compliance Manager, Packaging Maintenance & Training Manager, Packaging Specialist, Maintenance Specialist, Warehouse Assistant, and Packaging Shift Lead, and Snow Tire Warehouse which include Brewing Lead, Packaging Lead, Production Assistants, Taproom Staff, Taproom Operations Specialist, Taproom Shift Lead, and Taproom Assistant Manager. 

Excluded by the union would be all office employees, confidential employees, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act.

According to The Red & Black newspaper, BUG intends to become a fully independent union for breweries across the state. Various community leaders and union members delivered the letter requesting voluntary recognition on Jan. 13 to management requesting a response in three days, the release said. On Jan. 16, management said they would consider the request. Since the company did not immediately agree to recognition, BUG proceeded with filing for the election. 

Case details

Creature Comforts Brewing Company, LLC

Case Number: 10-RC-310377

Date Filed: 01/17/2023

Status: Open

Employer Legal Representative: Littler, Mendelson, P.C., Atlanta, Georgia

Representation Election Process

The National Labor Relations Act grants employees the right to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing and to refrain from such activity. A party may file an RC petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to conduct a secret ballot election to determine whether a representative will represent, or continue to represent, a unit of employees. An RC petition is generally filed by a union that desires to be certified as the bargaining representative. 

NLRB Election Process Chart

Brewing Union of Georgia: New craft beer union created in Athens Georgia

 Employees of Creature Comforts Brewing Company have announced they are forming an independent union meant to represent brewery workers in Georgia.

 

“We are forming a new independent union, we're calling it the Brewing Union of Georgia,” said Katie Britton, marketing manager of Creature Comforts, as reported by The Red & Black. 

Britton said that the union was formed to try and spread the positive workplace culture and core values of Creature Comforts to other breweries in the state and improve conditions in the field. They thanked Creature Comforts, committee members from the Economic Justice Coalition and the community for their continued support. 

“Creature’s a big part of this community, and this community is a really big part of Creature's,” Britton said. “We all believe that this is a really good step for everyone in our community and beyond.” 

Although Georgia is not usually thought of as a highly unionized state, the Brewing Union of Georgia would not be the first union to represent workers employed in the brewery trade in the state. 

Workers at the MillerCoors plant in Albany, Georgia, have long been represented by the International Association of Machinists. 

The challenge will be attracting craft brewery workers to see the benefits of unionization, as most craft breweries tend to have relatively few employees when compared to the larger brewers such as MillerCoors and Budweiser so organizing the scattered craft brewery workers can be difficult and expensive. 

The Red & Black quotes Erin Stacer as stating more about the reason for forming a union: “In Athens… wages don't match the cost of living. And people are working, but they can't live here. That's what the importance of being able to organize, being able to have leverage in your workplace means.”