Anders Bloomquist knows that his current job at Fair State Brewing Cooperative will probably be his last in the beer industry.
Far from a rabble-rouser, the baritone native of Minnesota’s Iron Range grew up the son of a social worker and a miner-turned-teacher. After college, he moved to the Twin Cities and started working on Fair State’s packaging line. Last September, when Fair State production, taproom, office, and brewery workers notified management of their intention to join the Twin Cities chapter of the Unite Here hospitality union, it was Bloomquist who spearheaded the charge. When management voluntarily recognized the union a week later, Fair State became the smallest union craft brewery in the U.S., and Bloomquist became the steward.
In a way, it was a perfect storm. At the time, COVID-19 was threatening the livelihoods of shift workers. Twin Cities’ Unite Here Local 17, led by secretary treasurer Sheigh Freeberg, was actively fomenting labor movements at local coffee shops and distilleries. Bloomquist had built up organizing experience as a member of the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America. It was a two-year journey of educating staff and building support, but he was betting the cooperatively owned brewery would be primed to meet their demands for transparency, bargaining rights, and a commitment to diversity. He was right, and now that the collective bargaining agreement is ratified, he’s the one keeping them to it.
In Bloomquist’s parents’ days, the title of steward (which Bloomquist shares with Alicia Bird and Ian Sutherland) was common in the American workplace. But as organized labor has become less common, shop stewards have vanished from the workplace. In the beer world, they hardly exist at all. Being a pioneer of a labor movement means you also risk making yourself a pariah, but he’s willing to accept that if it means moving an inch towards more equitable working conditions in craft beer.
The industry needs it. But first they needed to be shown it could be done.
Words,Jerard Fagerberg