Brewdog are investigating… Why craft beer needs trade unions
Its one of those things that happens on beer twitter from time to time.
A post noted that Brewdog Indianapolis had sacked female and LBTQ employees on International Women’s Day apparently looking for a change in culture at the bar, possibly to a white male workforce.
The CEO of Brewdog USA tweeted that of course Brewdog don’t discriminate while the London based head of Brewdog bars globally tweeted that he was investigating. On the one hand he was aware of an issue on the Indianapolis bar. On the other hand people are not sacked on the basis of gender or sexuality and if anyone had done that they’d be off too.
No doubt we will hear more but suffice to say that twitter pile-ons and claims of investigation by management on the same medium probably won’t get to the bottom of what has gone on here or sort out the issues.
For that a proper collective industrial relations framework is required. That means Brewdog recognising a trade union. That allows employees with issues to raise them through representatives who can pursue them through agreed processes with the employer.
It doesn’t guarantee successful outcomes but if it doesn’t there is always the recourse to some form of industrial action and/or legal advice.
Its all quite mundane and actually works (allowing for the fact that countries like the US and UK don’t have a level industrial relations playing field). In particular it helps to avoid the sound and fury of twitter pile-ons. It provides a context of collective action and it’s a way of actually holding employers to account.
Brewdog brew some decent beers, take some worthwhile initiatives (as well known missteps) but how they treat the people the employ and the framework for how that occurs is a real bottom line
Keith Flett is a trade union officer in the private sector
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