Union members say more than 20 striking workers have already left for other opportunities. It appears the United Food & Commercial Workers union that represents Heaven Hill workers and the distillery are at loggerheads. At least for the moment, it seems, the company has the upper hand. There’s a lot of whiskey aged in those rickhouses, and Heaven Hill can afford to give up several months of production.
The major sticking point, union officials says, involves scheduling workers for Saturday and Sunday workturns without awarding premium pay.