Blue Bird Bus factory workers in Fort Valley, Ga., vote to unionize

 Workers at the Blue Bird Bus manufacturing plant in Fort Valley, Ga., have voted to join the United Steelworkers Union (USW). 

In an historic 697 to 435 vote, the workers rejected management’s call to vote against the unionization effort. In 2001, the United Auto Workers tried, but failed, to organize the plant.

United Steelworkers International President Tom Conway welcomed the approximately 1,400 workers to the USW and congratulated them on their successful organizing effort. 

 “We’re proud that Blue Bird workers chose to join our union,” Conway said, “and we’re ready to help them bargain a fair contract that accounts for their contributions to the company’s success.”

The company has seven days to file an objection with the National Labor Relations Board. If the NLRB certifies the election, the company and union can begin negotiating a contract.

The Blue Bird Bus factory is the largest employer in Peach County, which is located in south-central Georgia.

According to the Associated Press, organized labor is a small sliver of Georgia workers, with only 4.4% of workers being union members. That is the eighth lowest union rate in the country, part of a belt of southern and western states where workers and employers have long resisted unionization.

Union organizers at Blue Bird have filed formal charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the company’s anti-union campaign has stepped over the legal line into improperly threatening and harassing employees.

The union alleged in the charges filed last month that the company has been improperly following workers outside the plant, has threatened to close the plant, and has warned it could freeze pay and benefits or not bargain fairly on a contract. The union says Blue Bird also issued threats to workers that all local employers would blackball pro-union workers from future jobs and that managers improperly polled workers on how they will vote.

The company has declined to comment on the specific charges, but denies doing anything improper or illegal.

 Workers told 13WMAZ that they had complaints about health, safety, and pay, while the company has denied many of these complaints and says it wants to maintain current worker-management relations without outside interference.

You can learn more by going to:

United Steelworkers Union

13WMAZ

New York Times

Associated Press

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.' "

Georgia nonprofit workers join Teamsters Local 728

 

Workers at the Georgia Innocence Project have obtained representation from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 728 in Atlanta. 

“We couldn’t be happier to represent this passionate group of workers who provide important work for the state of Georgia. These workers are extremely dedicated to the cause and believe deeply in the labor movement. This is a special win that shows it doesn’t matter what line of work you’re in — when it comes to needing union representation, everyone deserves protection from at-will employment, fair work rules, and respect on the job,” said Local 728 Organizer Chuck Stiles. “We look forward to winning a contract that will protect these workers and improve their working conditions.” 

The 15 workers received representation after successfully achieving card-check recognition. 

According to the Teamsters’ website, Georgia Innocence Project is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. 

The organization is located in downtown Atlanta, Ga.

Workers perform a variety of roles for the nonprofit organization, which consists of five attorneys, two investigators, and eight additional staff members.

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.”