Union workers at Anchor Brewing Company, the oldest craft brewer in the United States, want to buy the 127-year-old company and run it as a cooperative to save it from closing, a union official said.
The company said last week that economic pressures, including the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, had left it “with no choice but to make this sad decision to cease operations.” But employees who were given 60 days’ notice and promised severance packages offered a way to keep the beer flowing.
The workers “decided to launch an effort to purchase the brewery and operate it as a worker cooperative,” according to a proposal letter from Anchor employees. Pedro de Sá, the trade agent at International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6, whose members include workers at Anchor, sent the proposal Wednesday to Mike Minami, the president of Sapporo USA, which owns the company.
“All we want is a fair shot at being able to continue doing our jobs, making the beer we love, and keeping this historic institution open,” the letter said. “We don’t want the brewery and brand we love to be sold before we’ve even had a chance.”
on wednesday, the unionized Anchor workers posted a link to the VinePair article on Twitter: “Time to test everyone’s love for this brand. Let’s work this out together and bring back what we almost lost.”
Sam Singer, a spokesman for Anchor, would not comment on the proposal Thursday but said about two dozen investors and individuals have expressed interest in acquiring Anchor Brewing Co.’s assets.
“It’s encouraging to see so many step forward to eventually carry on the tradition of an iconic San Francisco company and beer,” said Mr. Singer. “We remain hopeful that Anchor will be bought and continue into the future, but it will be in the hands of the liquidator to make that decision and it depends on what is offered by potential buyers.”
The Japanese beer giant Sapporo got the company, which was founded in 1896, in 2017 for approximately $85 million. In 2019, Anchor workers voted to unionize, describing inadequate pay and unfair working conditions.
Mr. de Sá said in an interview Thursday that he met with the 39 workers who are members of the union and who represent about two-thirds of the brewery’s workforce. In a meeting at the factory on Wednesday, the employees agreed to form a committee to look at regulations and take further steps to compete for ownership.
“There was an agreement to form the cooperative and try to continue buying it from Sapporo, and we notified the company that same day,” Mr. de Sá said. “We hope the company will give the workers a fair shot.”
But on August 2, the beginning of the liquidation process for the company was threatened.
“The timeline is very short,” said Mr. de Sá. “As far as we know, the company will be sold for parts, and we want enough time to make a serious offer.”
When the shutdown was announced on July 12, ILWU Local 6 described it as a “tragic consequence” of a large corporation taking over a local institution from a base across the Pacific and a “failure to understand how to market, sell and distribute a great product that has been loved for generations.”
Anchor stopped brewing, but said it would continue to sell beer until it ends or through the end of July, whichever comes first. More Public Taps would sell remaining inventory.
After news of the impending closing spread, fans lined up outside the taproom to buy T-shirts and cases of beer and help clear remaining inventory, The Associated Press reported. In the Bay Area, NBC News reported this week that other investors had expressed interest in saving the brewery.
For Sapporo, Anchor Steam was “just another line in the budget,” the union said at the time, but the workers and the city of San Francisco are “suffering the consequences.”