Workers at Vikre Distillery in Canal Park announced their union drive last month after a supermajority of workers signed union cards.

More than 20 workers who do a variety of jobs at the distillery will be represented by UNITE-HERE Local 17. Vikre co-owners Emily and Joel Vikre have not recognized the union and an election is expected later this month.

“We wish it had been a voluntary recognition, but now we’re ready to move forward to an election,” said Anders Bloomquist of UNITE-HERE Local 17. “Public support has been wonderful and it’s really setting the stage for something big.”

UNITE-HERE represents more than 5,000 workers in the hospitality industry, including workers at Tattersall Distillery, Fair State Brewing Co-op and Brother Justus Whiskey Company in the Twin Cities. Bloomquist was a key player in getting Fair State became the first microbrewery to unionize, in 2020.

“Originally, the start was talking about wages and how really nowhere in Duluth seems to be paying a living wage, especially in customer service and food service,” said Brynne Pass, one of the workers at Vikre. “And the more we thought about it, we saw that Vikre is one of the better places to work, and we figured it would be a perfect place to come together as a community and take the first steps toward building a good foundation for the future.”

“I feel truly honored that I have been able to play a role the past couple months as these workers have built up their union,” Bloomquist said. “They are a brave group of workers who are deeply dedicated to each to each other…No matter what challenges popped up along the way these workers persisted through, and that collective strength is going to keep them rolling to build an amazing union in their workplace.”

Pass said improved relations would include more accountability and transparency from management, whom Pass described as “outspoken about being leaders in the community.”

“This is about working with management to make customer services workers more valued — this is a process to know that,” Pass said.

Union members and allies showed up in force at a “pack the bar” event shortly after the organizing announcement to toast the workers in solidarity.

"I think this is going to be a real domino in the Duluth hospitality industry,” Bloomquist said. “I have worked in and around hospitality and the craft beverage industry for nearly a decade, and it's the same problems all over….I think that lots of Duluth area workers are going to look at the Vikre crew and ask a very simple question 'Why don't we do that too?' "

Minnesota Sen. Jen McEwen, Rep. Liz Olson and Rep. Alicia Kozlowski sent an open letter to Vikre employees expressing support.

“Other types of jobs that were once smaller parts of the community have now become some of the most common categories of employment in the area,” the letter said. “And workers are realizing that in these growing industries there is the same need for a union just as there was in the industries that emerged a century ago.”

A wave of organizing in hospitality and restaurants has swept both the nation and the Twin Cities over the past several years, most notably in coffeeshop chains such as Starbucks. At the same time, companies that market themselves as friendly, trendy and even progressive that then face organizing campaigns — such as breweries and distilleries — have been known to drag their feet when it comes to recognizing and bargaining with unions.

Surly Brewing closed its beerhall and garden during a unionization effort in the last half of 2020. At Brother Justus, the union is still negotiating for its first contract after voting to unionize in 2021.