Hello Members of District Milwaukee,
As many of you have seen and heard, there has been an outpour of posts on social media regarding accounts of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and discrimination experienced by women, non-binary, and LGBTQIA+ people in the brewing and alcohol-related industries.
The social media posts were started early this week, when a woman in the beer industry invited other folks to tell their stories of harassment in a safe and anonymous space online. They are very tough to read through, but we still highly encourage you to visit this Instagram Page, and view the “highlights” section to read the thousands of stories that have been shared under “Sexism Pt. 1” through “Sexism Pt. 10”. If you are not familiar with Instagram, please read through these articles to catch up to speed:
https://vinepair.com/articles/sexism-assault-beer-industry-ratmagnet/
https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2021/5/18/beer-industry-allegations-legal-vulnerability
https://www.brewersassociation.org/association-news/a-community-call-to-action/
Within several of these stories, the Master Brewers was named as an organization and space where folks have experienced both harassment and discrimination. On behalf of district Milwaukee, we do not, by any means, tolerate this sexism, bigotry, and ignorance. Our district is committed to creating a space that is safe, respectful, and where all feel welcome. We strongly stand behind the Master Brewers Code of Conduct, and Expected Behavior Policy. National is currently working on implementing a better reporting system, in the meantime please reach out to Susan Kohn at reporting@mbaa.com for more information on how to report incidents of misconduct to the Master Brewers Association.
This is an overdue wake-up call for our industry. If you see or experience an incident of misconduct at one of our local district events, we want to know about it, and we promise to take immediate action. If you would like to reach out to our local district to report an incident, you can either reach out directly to any of the District officers Steve Thompson (steve.thompson@yakimachief.com), Mat Arbuckle (matwarbuckle@gmail.com) or Bradly Berg (bberg@pabst.com)>
While we have already formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the current events have accelerated our efforts and brought it's mission to the top of our priorities. If you weren't able to join us for our March virtual district meeting, you can watch the presentation from Susan Welch, MBAA's national DEI Committee Chair and Doug Reynolds on his case study and formation of a DEI Committee at Deschutes Brewing here:
https://youtu.be/uceiXYVqCkk
The conversation does not end with this document, and we are dedicated to continuing working on making our local district a more safe and inclusive space.
If you have suggestions or ideas of how our district can create a safer space for our members, please reach out to any of the district officers with your feedback.
District Milwaukee would like to thank Riley Seitz (rileys@surlybrewing.com) of MBAA District St. Paul/Minneapolis for giving us some guidance on the best way to move forward in regards to this policy, and her input is valued and appreciated.
Best,
MBAA District Milwaukee