President Obama Likes Non-Union Beer?

March 2, 2010

A bet is a bet… and once again our Chief Prognosticator incorrectly chose the victor of another sporting event, so its time to pay up. In a friendly wager with Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, the President promised to send a case of Yuengling to Canada if the neighbors to the North were victorious in Sunday’s Gold Medal Hockey contest at the Olympics – and if the Americans brought home the Gold, Harper would have had to send some Molsons the direction of our little presidential drinker. Well by now you know how that game turned out, so President Obama has to pay up. (In fairness, there is some contention over whether the President chose Yuengling or Prime Minister Harper, and I think it makes more sense for the President to have to buy Molson; but last I checked both sides have to agree on a wager, so I really don’t give a damn who was buying what. He still chose Yuengling)

Ignoring the point that the President is quickly becoming the unluckiest charm out there in the world of sports, we will focus solely on the beer of choice of our wonderful president. I for one love Yuengling. I’d even go so far as to say its my favorite beer. I wasn’t aware; however, of why I should have loved the brew even if it tasted like a mixture of bacon grease and day old coffee.

Apparently Yuengling is a non-union shop. Newsworthy? Probably not – except for the fact that it used to be and the President of Yuengling, Dick Yuengling Jr., went to his employees at “America’s Oldest Brewery” and told them that if they didn’t drop the union nonsense, he’d have to close the doors and deprive the world – and me – of my favorite beer. And guess what those deeply oppressed / union-protected employees did? They saved their jobs and dropped the union.

I bet Bammy’s having one hell of a time explaining this wager to his boys over at SEIU….

From the Beer Advocate

Dick Yuengling Jr., fifth-generation owner of the brewery that bears his name, called his employees together a few weeks before their labor contract was set to expire to talk about the future of the business.

“Read between the lines,” he told them at one point, according to government documents on the management-union feud that followed.

Depending upon whom you ask, Yuengling’s speech was either a pep talk to urge employees to work harder or an ultimatum to dump the Teamsters union, which is what they did.

This guy was devastated…

This past weekend when I discovered that Yuengling had illegally busted their union, I was emotionally devastated. I had just bought a case of Yuengling earlier that same day and had it sitting at home in the refrigerator waiting for me. What would I do? I was broke and couldn’t possibly afford to buy another case of beer, but at the same time I couldn’t possibly enjoy drinking a Yuengling knowing what they had done to their workers. So instead, I found myself at home, watching a baseball game on a Saturday night, and enjoying a nice, cold glass of milk as I struggled to deal with how Yuengling had betrayed not only its workers, but me.

Tags: beer, beer summit, canada, hockey, molson, oldest brewery, President Obama, prime minister, stephen harper, yuengling

This entry was posted on March 2, 2010 at 11:45 am and is filed under THE LIGHTER SIDE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

11 Responses to President Obama Likes Non-Union Beer?

Russ on March 2, 2010 at 3:44 pm

Nice. Not only non-union, but the oldest in America.
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Jon on July 15, 2010 at 1:12 pm

I really enjoyed your article. I came across it as I was searching for non-union made beers. You see, I am not a proponent of unions. As such, I try not to patronize them as much as possible. Well recently, as I was partaking in my favorite, I took the time to read the label and found that it was union made. Upon further research, I found that almost EVERY “American made” beer is union made. I do enjoy Yuengling, but I prefer a lighter beer. So maybe you (or anyone else that reads this) can help me by providing a list of other non-union made beers that I can call my new favorite?
Jimmy Hoffa on September 24, 2010 at 7:45 pm

Hey Jon….

Yuengling makes a great light beer too and only 99 calories. Its called Yuengling LIGHT Lager. Good stuff and ALSO non union (obviously!).
Dick Yuengling is an American hero……

Great article “T”!

Signed-
Jimmy Hoffa
joepetrick on September 12, 2011 at 4:58 pm

Shame on Yuegling for going anti-union! Lwet’s see howe thier sales and quality work out for them in the nexgt 10 years! UNION YES!