An election to determine whether 66 employees of Woodford Reserve Distillery will join the Teamsters union will take place Nov. 17, Teamsters Local 651 officials told The Woodford Sun. Woodford Reserve employees approached the union in February, according to Joe Lance, vice president and chief organizer for Local 651, which is based in Lexington, “… because they were unhappy with wages and other things at the plant, so we’ve been talking to them to see how much support we’ve got.” Woodford Reserve is owned by Brown-Forman Corporation, which is headquartered in Louisville. Lance said when employee support for joining the union exceeded 50 percent, they filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election. The NLRF will also oversee the election, he said. “… We’re going to do it all that day. We’re going to hit every shift, everybody’s going to get a chance to vote, we’ll count the votes and see how it goes down then,” Lance said. When the Teamsters began meeting with the Woodford Reserve employees, they examined employee contracts at unionized area distilleries and learned Woodford Reserve workers were the lowest paid, Lance said. “Their corporation’s probably doing better than any of them … but they were sometimes as much as $7 less on the hour than these other distilleries, so that raised our eyebrows, ‘Yeah, we can come in here and make a difference,’” Lance said. An email to Brown-Forman requesting comment was answered by Elizabeth Conway, the company’s Brand and External Communications director. She wrote, “We have been notified that the Teamsters have filed for a unionization vote. Brown-Forman is committed to having a positive working environment and empowers our distillery employees to communicate directly with leadership. We value this relationship, and we do not believe that unionizing is in the best interests of our production team at the Woodford Reserve.” Lance said the union isn’t allowed on property, so they’ve been meeting with employees elsewhere, including the Versailles Brewing Company. Union signs on McCracken Pike, sometimes accompanied by union officials, are posted on property nearby. “… Part of our goal is to create an industry standard in Woodford County, where people are going to make $25, $27 an hour and change the whole economy around here,” he said. The prospect of employees joining the Teamsters has already led to Brown-Foreman granting Woodford Reserve employees raises of $5 an hour, from $21 to $26, Lance said. “And they’re still the lowest in the industry in central Kentucky,” added Local 651 President James “JB” Brant. Lance said the comparison was to pay at unionized shops at Four Roses, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey and even Brown-Foreman. Lance said Woodford Reserve managers have been lobbying employees about why they shouldn’t join the Teamsters, which is common in such instances. “Both sides, we’re bound by labor law to be truthful, right? But that can be manipulated, right? So what they’re doing is they’re having their meetings and going department by department and they’re getting everybody in the break room and telling them what a bad thing the union’s going to be, (that) it’s going to be terrible for communication. And they’re having supervisors from other union plants come in go, ‘Well, this has been one of the worst experiences ever…’” Lance said. Brant said the union believes company officials are breaking federal labor laws during meetings with employees by putting out inaccurate information designed to sway the election. “This company does not want their workers to have a living wage, they don’t want their workers to have job security, safer working conditions, the whole nine yards …” Brant said. Union dues are the equivalent of 2 ½ hours of pay per month – a ratio that will never change, according to Lance and Brant. Lance said he’s confident the Teamsters will win the Nov. 17 vote. “You never know until everybody votes when they go in there and they pull that curtain and check their ballots, but we’re fairly confident … because it can make such a difference. Let’s be honest – the company knows what a difference it will make. They own these union facilities everyplace else where they’re paying them $7 (more) an hour. They’re going to fight this thing tooth and nail because it comes at an expense. Now people get to bargain for their wages, their insurance, their pension – things that they don’t have now.
Woodford Reserve Teamsters vote set for Nov. 17
