Former Anchor Brewing workers urge Hamdi Ulukaya to rehire them as signs point to a restart

Former workers at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco are publicly asking the brewery’s new owner, Hamdi Ulukaya, to rehire them and sign a union neutrality agreement as signs grow that the historic plant may be preparing to restart production after nearly three years of inactivity.

The push comes as steam has been seen rising from the Potrero Hill brewery, work crews have been spotted on site, and permits and label approvals have begun to accumulate, suggesting movement at the 155-year-old company. Ulukaya, the founder of Chobani, bought Anchor’s property and intellectual property in June 2024 after Sapporo shut the brewery and its assets went to auction in August 2023.

Patrick Machel, a former production worker and shop steward for Anchor Union SF, said former employees wanted to enter the public discussion early to make clear that they want their jobs back “with the union we fought hard for fairly.” Anchor Union SF was organized by brewery workers in 2019 and represented in collective bargaining by International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6 until the closure.

Former workers and ILWU Local 6 have backed a petition calling on Ulukaya to offer jobs back to all former employees and to sign a neutrality agreement pledging not to interfere with future organizing efforts if workers are rehired. The union is also planning a “drink-in” in San Francisco next week to build public support.

Anchor did not respond to emailed requests for comment. Ulukaya has said little publicly about his plans for the brewery since acquiring it. At the time of the purchase, he told The San Francisco Chronicle that he wanted to get Anchor operating again as soon as he had “alignment with the community and the people who worked there a long time.”

For former employees, the case for rehiring is both practical and symbolic. Ryan Poulos, who was working at Anchor when it closed, said restarting the brewery with experienced staff would help because many of the plant’s systems are old and specialized. He said training an entirely new workforce on older equipment would be difficult without people who already know how it works.

That issue has been visible before. When Sapporo was preparing to exit Anchor in 2023, workers said modernization efforts at the plant had been difficult. In 2024, wastewater tanks that had not been properly decommissioned at the idle brewery caused odors severe enough to draw public attention.

Nate Dias, another former production worker, said returning employees would have “an upper hand” in operating the facility from the first day, even if others could eventually learn it. He also said he was encouraged simply by signs that Anchor beer might return.

The labor dispute matters beyond one brewery because Anchor’s reopening could affect costs, startup timing and supply stability in a premium U.S. beer segment that has already been under pressure. The craft beer market has slowed, shelf space is tight, and draft lines are competitive, making execution especially important for a legacy brand trying to reenter distribution.

Former workers say their interest is not only economic. Several described their jobs at Anchor as deeply tied to the brewery’s identity and to San Francisco itself. Dias said employees cared about “the beer and working for Anchor as an institution,” while Poulos said working there had personal meaning because of the brewery’s connection to where he grew up.

Ulukaya controls a much larger consumer packaged goods business built around Chobani and expanded with the acquisition of La Colombe Coffee Roasters in late 2023. In October 2025, his company announced a $650 million fundraising round that valued it at more than $20 billion, according to company statements cited in industry reporting.

Whether Ulukaya chooses to bring back unionized former workers remains unclear. Under U.S. labor law, an owner generally is not required to negotiate with a union or sign a neutrality agreement unless legal conditions trigger that obligation. For now, former Anchor employees are trying to use public pressure and their technical knowledge of the brewery to make their case as preparations at the plant appear to advance.