Gulf Island Brewery becomes first unionized craft brewery in B.C.

Saltspring Island Ales has become the first craft brewery in British Columbia to unionize after three production staff and five part-time staff in the tasting room voted to join the Brewery, Winery and Distillery union.  

"I think it will bring more people on board to go unionized to get better wages and better living conditions," said the union's business agent Gerry Bergunder. 

Under the new deal Gulf Island Brewery agreed to add more equipment and put more money into the brewing facility.

The owners also signed on to top up the Medical Service Plan premiums for employees, but did not include a lot of benefits, he said.

Bergunder said the owners "weren't happy with them organizing" but didn't interfere with the employees.

The owners of Gulf Island Brewing Ltd., the parent company of Saltspring Ales, would not comment to the CBC about the move.

Resistance brewing

There has been a resistance against organizing in British Columbia's craft brewery scene. Workers at the popular east Vancouver brewery Parallel 49 voted 16 to 4 against joining a union in 2014 after some employees signed union cards.  

One of the biggest concerns from craft brewers is that the additional costs associated with higher wages and some benefits unionized workers typically get could cut into the already small profits for most small beer makers.

But Bergunder said the union wants be be a part of the growth in the industry, not shut it down.

"That is the one thing is we don't deal by ego. We deal with what the company can afford because the last thing we want is the company to go down and we want the workers to have gainful employment," said Bergunder. 

"A lot of young people may be intimidated to try to unionize. They don't have to be intimidated, we are there to help them through all the way." 

Strength in numbers

Mark Thompson, a professor emeritus at the Sauder School of Business in Industrial relations, said the Saltpring Island Ales deal is the sign of more to come. 

"What the union would probably like to do as a strategy is to unionize several craft breweries and then get them in a group and negotiate," said Thompson. 

"For 10 to 15 workers, it's not worthwhile to a union to dedicate a lot of resources because there are not enough dues coming in. But let's say 100 workers at several breweries then it starts to make sense."

The craft brewery industry has seen tremendous growth in the the last few years. There are expected to be more than 130 breweries by the end of 2016, with craft beer making up 20 per cent of the market. 

Thompson added that for those trying to launch a new brewery, unionization would help them accurately forecast staffing costs.

"New entrants know where they stand. If you want to start a brewery, this is what is going to cost for a brewmaster and sales staff," said Thompson.

"It's all there in the agreement and if you can't meet that maybe you want to revisit your business model."