(With a huge tip of the hat to my friend
Mike VanDervort for the idea), and inspired by the impending union election at
Creature Comforts, I asked
Bard, Google's AI assistant, the following question: "What are some good names for a union-free craft beer?"
Bard's suggestions:
- Free Range Ale
- Independent IPA
- Maverick Pale Ale
- Unshackled Wheat
- Renegade Stout
- Free Spirit Saison
- Unbowed Brown Ale
- Unbound Amber Ale
- Defiant Pilsner
- Untamed IPA
- Wild Card Porter
But it is its rationale for choosing those names that is the most enlightening.
These names all convey the idea of being free from union control, while also being creative and catchy. They would be a good fit for a craft beer that is brewed by a small, independent brewery that values its employees and gives them a fair wage.
There's a whole lot of wisdom in the statement that valuing your employees and paying them a fair wage is what a business needs to do to stay union free. So, crack open an Unshackled Wheat or an Independent IPA and toast those businesses that treat their employees like people, and not like replaceable widgets whose only goal is to make the company profits; they will be the employers that will remain union free, even as the NLRB is doing everything within (and without) its power to unionize as many businesses as possible.