Exploitation and Division in the Brewery Industry

Although the reference to war that you just heard could very much be real, actual military conflict — after all, our guest on today’s episode has fought as a freedom fighter in a Kurdish militia in Syria — today’s episode isn’t about that. It’s about a different kind of war: class war. Specifically, class conflict as it manifests in the workplace between employees and employers.

You may already know about Anchor Brewery — maybe you love the beer, maybe you’ve seen the iconic steam beer bottle around, or maybe you don’t know anything about it. Whatever your relationship to Anchor Brewery — you’re about to hear a story that stretches from early San Francisco union history, to the dawn of the craft beer renaissance, and into the present. A story about class war and worker solidarity in the beer industry.

You might also have heard about Anchor Brewery’s unionization campaign that took place in 2019 after this locally beloved brewery was bought by a giant beer conglomerate, Sapporo. That unionization campaign was successful, but recently, Sapporo abruptly, and controversially, closed Anchor Brewing down. Now, some of the workers at Anchor who don’t want to see this centuries-old institution stripped for parts, want to turn the brewery into a worker-owned cooperative.

This is really a sort of David and Goliath story, and to tell it, we’ve brought on Brace Belden, who was an integral part of the union campaign back in 2019. Brace is the co-host of the podcast TrueAnon and a long-time San Franciscan who has worked, in many capacities, within the labor movement. In this episode he tells us the story of the unionization campaign at Anchor — giving us a sort of ‘how to start a union’ 101 crash course. We also explore the struggles with Sapporo, the effort to convert Anchor into a worker cooperative, and also, how local Bay Area beer producers and enjoyers are coming together in an act of true solidarity to stand behind the workers that have been the backbone of this historic brewery.

Thank you to Carolyn Raider for this episode’s cover art and to Gopal Maurya for the intermission music. Upstream theme music was composed by Robert Raymond/Lanterns.

Further Resources:

• Help Workers Save Anchor Brewing (Gofundme)
• Anchor Union SF's Instagram
• International Longshore and Warehouse Union
• FoundSF
• Fingers
• TrueAnon
• The Response: Labor Battles and the Beer Industry with Pedro Mancilla
• Chapo Trap House — 288 - So You Want To Start A Union feat. Brace Belden (2/10/19)

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