Surly Brewing Employees Protest Alleged Union Busting After Beer Hall's Closure

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Some Surly Brewing Company employees are accusing the company of union busting.

Dozens of people rallied outside of the Surly Beer Hall in Minneapolis Sunday afternoon. This comes after Surly announced Wednesday they would be closing the hall indefinitely on Nov. 2 due to COVID-19 financial losses.

The closing announcement came just two days after some of Surly's employees said they planned to unionize. Employees say that's retaliation, but Surly says their plans to close the Beer Hall were put in place weeks ago.

Lindsey Alinder is a server at the beer hall.

"A lot of people found out on social media that we were gonna be closed indefinitely. I think that we should be part of the conversation to try and make it better, rather than just completely being shut out by now being closed," Alinder said.

Surly sent this statement to WCCO Sunday:

We respect freedom of expression and the rights around union activity. The people out front are exercising those rights and doing so peacefully and constructively.

While that is occurring for a couple of hours, we'll keep our focus on where it's always been: giving our guests and our employees a great experience and amazing beer in a safe, fun environment.

READ MORE: Surly Beer Hall's Closing May Be Sign Of Things To Come For Minnesota's Craft Breweries