Beer News: Teamsters Accuse Boston Beer Of Unfair Labor Practices / 2025 Collaboration Fest Returns

American Craft Beer|February 28th, 2025|

(Credit: Brewtography Project)

One of the nation’s most powerful unions is calling out Boston Beer. We’ve that, “Words to Drink By,” big beer festival news, and more.

Collaboration Fest Returns to Denver

Hosted by the Colorado Brewers Guild and presented by On Tap Credit Union, Collaboration Fest, one of the nation’s best beer festivals, is retuning to Denver on April 19.

A one-of-a-kind beer gathering, this is the original collaboration beer festival where Colorado Brewers Guild members team up with brewers both near and far and let their brewing imaginations run wild. And when brewers across Colorado get together to collaborate & brew one-off exclusive beers, it can turn into the biggest party of the year!

And in addition to Colorado best brewers, 31 out-of-state craft breweries and one brewery from Mexico will also be attending this year, with the festival itself featuring more than 130 collaboration beers. So, yeah, this is a good one.

Words to Drink By

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity

Teamsters Charge Boston Beer With Unfair Labor Practices

Teamsters Local 1199 has filed unfair labor practice charges against Boston Beer Company — the parent company of Samuel Adams Beer, Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, and Twisted Tea — for refusing to bargain in good faith.

“Boston Beer Company is dragging its feet, and Teamsters won’t tolerate it,” said Randy Verst, President of Local 1199. “These workers are responsible for the success of these brands. This company owes them the simple respect of meeting for contract negotiations.”

Most workers at Boston Beer’s Cincinnati brewery have long been covered by a Teamsters contract. But the newest Local 1199 members are fighting for their first collective bargaining agreement and demanding the same schedule of raises and working conditions that their co-workers already have.

“Being asked to accept the employer’s last offer, which included wage cuts for our most senior third of the department, was aggravating to say the least,” Brian Morris, a blend technician at Boston Beer’s Cincinnati brewery said.

“The fact that we unanimously rejected it shows just how united we are. The company needs to return to bargaining because this is far from over.”

But Boston Beer doesn’t agree…

“We held 16 bargaining sessions with the union over a several-month period that involved much back and forth, a Boston Beer spokesperson told the Drinks Business. “We held 16 bargaining sessions with the union over a several-month period that involved much back and forth. We’ve met with them whenever they requested to bargain, and we’re confident we’ve met our duty to bargain in good faith.”