Steam Whistle workers win union recognition after Ontario Labour Relations Board finds employer interfered in organizing campaign

TORONTO, Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This week the Ontario Labour Board (OLRB) ordered Steam Whistle Brewery workers in Etobicoke to be represented by SEIU Local 2 after concluding that the employer interfered in an organizing campaign.

“This is a monumental decision in an industry where people are taken advantage of for their passion,” said Geoff Albrecht, a worker at the Brewery active in the organizing drive. “It shows that it is possible to organize your workplace. With a Union I am truly optimistic about the future.”

SEIU Local 2 says this decision sends a message that workers have a right to organize without being intimidated and retaliated against. They welcome the Board’s recognition that the employer unlawfully interfered in the campaign, and that they are now unionized workers, calling it a victory for the labour movement.

OLRB concluded in its decision that the employer’s termination of an employee active in the organizing campaign and discipline of another “caused a chilling effect on the campaign that cannot be remedied by a vote”. It therefore ordered the workers to automatically be represented by the union, SEIU Local 2.

“I met with the Steam Whistle workers to pass my experience of organizing my workplace,” said Yohsio Kimura, Turning Point Brewery Worker in British Columbia. “Congratulations to the Steam Whistle workers. You fought for it, you earned it, and you showed what solidarity can accomplish."

For more information, contact:

Daniel Tseghay | Media Contact, SEIU Local 2
dtseghay@seiulocal2.ca | 403-605-5906