Monday, April 11, 2022
Why I’m anti-union
“Jon, why are you anti-union?”
I’ve received this question a lot lately. Between all of my posts about the need for all employers (including craft breweries) to pay attention to the recent wave of union organizing, and my philosophy of workplace management that focuses on positive culture and positive treatment of workers, many have asked why I oppose labor unions.
Let me explain.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, April 7, 2022
Don’t confuse “tips” and “service charges” for hospitality employees
How often have you looked at you bill at a restaurant and have seen an added service fee? Do you think to yourself, "No need to tip; it's already been added to the bill."
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Are you an ally, or are you just afraid of being canceled?
I tell my students, "When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game."
I think of this quote often when I think about what it means to be an ally at work.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, March 25, 2022
WIRTW #619: the “update” edition
To wrap things up this week, I thought I'd update two stories.
1/ UCLA Unpaid Job Posting
In addition to taking down the offensive job posting, UCLA tweeted this update.
Had UCLA included some of this reasonable explanation as part of its job posting, it could have avoided being excoriated online.
2/ Brienne Allan
Brienne, now of Brave Noise Beer, recently appeared on the Good Beer Hunting podcast to discuss what her year has been like since her Instagram post asking for stories about sexual harassment and gender discrimination in craft breweries went viral. It's a great listen. My takeaway (which will be fodder for a future post): Is your business an ally, or are you just afraid of being canceled?Here's what I read this past week that I think you should be reading, too.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, March 24, 2022
Starbucks employees are trying to “kick down the door” across the entire food and beverage service industry
Less than one and one-half miles away from the flagship Starbucks that launched a global coffee empire five decades ago, employees unanimously voted for their shop to unionize. It became the seventh such store to vote to unionize, joining five stores in Buffalo, New York, and one in Mesa, Arizona. Of the 157 (and rising) Starbucks currently organizing or planning to organize, only one thus far (also in Buffalo) has sided with management.
Pay careful attention to what the employees of the Seattle store that just went union told The Seattle Times in speaking about what this vote means for employees in the food and beverage service industry generally.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2022
The nuts and bolts of your company code of conduct
Yesterday I explained why your company needs a code of conduct separate from or adjunct to your already-existing anti-harassment policy.
Today, I'm back to explain what it should contain, to whom it should apply, how violations are addressed, and how it should be disseminated.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Does your craft brewery or other company have a code of conduct?
Meet Brienne Allan, a brewer at Notch Brewing in Salem, Mass. In May 2021 she asked a simple question in an Instagram Story— "What sexist comments have you experienced?"
What followed were hundreds upon hundreds of stories of sex-based discrimination, harassment, and other abuse.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, March 11, 2022
WIRTW #617: the “drive-thru” edition
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of guesting on DriveThruHR, one of the oldest and (in my opinion) best HR radio shows/podcasts. We discussed the end of my pandemic practice, the start of my craft beer practice, how alcohol is in my blood (and not in the way you might think), the sudden and successful rise of the labor movement, and some worst employers. Thanks to Mike VanDervort for the invite, and Mike and Robin Schooling for the discussion.
You can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Here's what I read this past week that I think you should be reading, too.For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, March 7, 2022
THIS is why craft breweries need to pay very close attention to labor unions
It was a simple question posed in the Craft Beef Professionals Facebook group: "Conversations on fair compensation are extremely important in our industry. What is a brewery that impresses you with the way they treat their team?"
The IWW is looking into this and the other plethora of issues we face as workers in this industry. Reach out to brewing@iww.org if you're interested in creating a better work environment near you.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, March 4, 2022
WIRTW #616: the “cocktail” edition
Have you heard about Pravda Brewery, in Lviv, Ukraine. It has stopped producing craft beer and instead is making Molotov cocktails for the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces.
"Once we understand what can come through beer — because it’s no time for beer, we need to get other things sorted out — we decided to make Molotov cocktails because we can use bottles, we can use the people, and it was a grassroots idea."
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, March 3, 2022
Brewery CEO out after backlash to controversial vaccine comments
Vaccine mandates are a crime against humanity.
If you are not speaking out against them, you are a conspirator.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Tip credits and tip pools — the tip of the FLSA iceberg
No employment law is more misunderstood and misapplied by employers than the Fair Labor Standards Act, our federal wage and hour law. There are more than 8,000 federal FLSA lawsuits filed per year, with nearly one-quarter filed against employers in the accommodation and food service industry … including craft breweries.
These employers get themselves in legal trouble because of the special manner in which service industry employees are compensated. If you employ workers who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips (and every craft brewery does), there are two key FLSA phrases you must understand to avoid FLSA landmines — tip credit and tip pool.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, February 15, 2022
What do you do for a living?
The question, "What do you do for a living," doesn't have a straight-line answer. My law firm bio offers several answers.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, February 11, 2022
WIRTW #613: the “competition” edition
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Wednesday, February 9, 2022
We are officially in the Golden Age of Union Organizing. How will your company respond?
Yesterday, the White House Task Force on Worker Organization and Empowerment released its 45-page report on the use of executive branch policies, practices, and programs to promote the Biden Administration's support for worker power, worker organizing, and collective bargaining.
The key takeaway for employers? The Task Force has recommended that the federal government use its "authority to support worker empowerment by providing information, improving transparency, and making sure existing pro-worker services are delivered in a timely and helpful manner."
Yikes! 😱
How will the federal government accomplish this?
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Monday, January 24, 2022
Coronavirus Update 1-24-22: I’m a Covid statistic
It was a calculated risk. I've been so careful for the past 22 months. We don't socialize outside of a very small bubble. We don't eat in restaurants or go to bars unless we can be outside. We've given up concerts and traveling. I wear my KN95 mask everywhere.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, January 20, 2022
If you treat employees like they are fungible, they will act like they are fungible
I spent the past few days at the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference promoting my new venture, OhioBeerLawyers.com. In addition to being one of the event's sponsors, trying to network in as Covid-safe of a way as possible, and learning about the business of craft beer, I also was a presenter. My chosen topic was how to hire and retain employees in the midst of the Great Resignation.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Friday, January 14, 2022
Stepping out of my confort zone
Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone to move forward, including in one's career.
For the past 25 years, I've been a management-side labor and employment lawyer. I've represented employers in just about every type of employee dispute you can imagine and counseled too many to count on a countless number of issues.
Still, I yearn for growth. One of the industries I've had the pleasure of representing over the years is the craft beer industry. Thus, I've helped spearhead the launch of Wickens Herzer Panza's brand new Craft Beer Practice Group. I'm excited to be one of the two leaders of this group, along with one of my partners, Grant Steyer. You'll find our new practice at ohiobeerlawyers.com.
I'm still a practicing labor and employment lawyer (don't worry). I'm just adding "craft beer lawyer" to my arsenal.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2021
“Striketober” highlights union organizing concerns for Ohio craft breweries
One of the unexpected byproducts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is a corresponding rise in union organizing and other union-related activity. This crisis has magnified attention on key union agenda items and talking points such as worker safety and higher pay. Unions have not been shy about pressing these issues. "Striketober" is in full effect, with more than 100,000 workers walking off the job in the past week alone. According to The Wall Street Journal, employees are angry and are increasingly turning to labor unions to vent.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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Thursday, July 7, 2016
Will work for beer
According to Boy Genius Report, archeologists in Iraq recently discovered a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian tablet, which the site artfully describes as a “pay stub for beer due.” If the interpretation of the tablet is to be believed, ancient Mesopotamians were paid in beer for their labor.
“That was 3000 B.C., and this is 2016 A.D.,” you’re saying to yourself. “What possible relevance does this story have to modern employers?” The answer may surprise you.
For more information, contact Jon at (440) 695-8044 or JHyman@Wickenslaw.com.
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