Workers at Stone Brewing Company’s sprawling facilities in Richmond, Va. went public today with a union drive to secure higher pay, more consistent scheduling, and better working conditions.
“We’re here to fight for jobs that are worth staying with as careers,” one worker told VinePair in a text exchange on the eve of the announcement. They requested anonymity to speak about the drive without fear of retaliation, noting that a vocally pro-union employee had recently been fired. “We’re also here to make a world-class product and be fucking excellent at it every day.” An organizer with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Local 322 delivered a request for recognition at the brewery Monday afternoon. VinePair has reviewed a copy of that letter, which was addressed to Joel Pipman, the vice-president of brewing operations at Sapporo-Stone Brewing who has been on the job for less than a year after being hired away from Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Williamsburg facility in October 2023. This piece will be updated with more details once an official petition is filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
