Workers at Crux Fermentation Project voted 10-2 against unionizing with an independent labor organization, in ballots counted Aug. 4.
Several workers at the popular Bend restaurant launched the organizing effort in May, forming the Crux Front of the House Employees Union to represent about 13 workers in the restaurant. The proposed bargaining unit was later expanded to cover back-of-house workers as well, for a total of 28 workers.
Crux hired law firm Fisher Phillips and objected to the union effort, arguing the independent union didn’t constitute a labor organization. The employer also pushed for an in-person election, but the NLRB directed a vote-by-mail election.
In the end, with turnout of 43%, workers emphatically voted to remain nonunion.
Unions are exceedingly rare in brewpubs and craft breweries alike – had Crux gone union, it would have been the only union brew pub in the state.
