Drink Union This Weekend, Your Guide to Union-Made Beer
by Jake Blumgart
Talking Union
Posted on July 3, 2010 by dsalaborblogmoderator
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2010/07/03/drink-union-this-weekend-your-guide-to-union-made-beer/#more-6770


I spend a lot of time reading, thinking, and writing
about unions and other labor issues. I also spend a
reasonable amount of time drinking with my friends,
particularly on weekends, and especially on holiday
weekends. When combined these activities lend themselves
to speculation about which of the beverages I consume
are union made. The answer: a surprising number of them!
So, in honor of the July Fourth weekend I've
thoughtfully compiled a list of economically just - and
mostly cheap beverages - for all your holiday drinking
needs.

To my knowledge, there are three major unions in the
world of alcoholic beverages.

   1. The United Autoworkers (UAW). Highly ironic.
   2. International Association of Machinists and
   Aerospace Workers (IAM).
   3. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
   Unsurprising.

The number of union made alcoholic beverages is quite
extensive so I won't attempt to list them all here. If
you'd like to do more research on your own, check out
UFCW's home page. The rest of the info comes from this
bizarre little website, masterminded by an International
Association of Machinists member and a contributor to
the far-right website WorldNet Daily. Contrary to the
bird's eye view of unionism, there are a fair number of
committed conservatives in the labor movement's rank and
file.

The big surprise here is Budweiser. I'd always assumed
Bud was too Red State America to be union and they also
don't feature the "Union Made" label, unlike Miller
products or the Miller-brewed PBR. But it turns out Bud
and Bud Light are manufactured by hard-working union
members.

Good news for socially-conscious bourbon drinkers too.
Almost every bourbon I've ever tasted has an organized
workforce behind it: Knob Creek, Jim Beam, Windsor, Wild
Turkey, Ancient Age, Evan Williams, Kentucky Gentleman,
Old Crow, Old Fitz; the list is nearly endless. Only
Jack Daniels and Makers Mark are noticeably absent. Let
the Mint Juleps flow!

For gin, Seagram's and Gilbey's are on the level.

If you want Tequila, scrap your ideals. I've never even
heard of Herradura Tequila, one of the few on union-made
lists. That can't be a good sign.

What ever you do, steer clear of Coors or Coors-made
products (including Blue Moon). As Annika Carlson
described a couple years back, they're just plain evil
when it comes to workers' rights. The Coors family even
had a hand in founding the Heritage Foundation, one of
the most conservative, and most ridiculous think tanks
in Washington, D.C.

Granted, there was a Coors/Miller merger in 2007, which
hasn't yet made clear which products are union-made and
which aren't. Still, it can't hurt to look for the
"Union Made" label on the can.

Jake Blumgart has been a staff writer for Campus
Progress. He is a writer and blogger for Seattle's
alternative weekly The Stranger and other publications.
His musing on beer is published here with his
permission.

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