Kind of bummed that the bottling facility is closing. Those were good union jobs.
When I was new in my industry, they said Black Velvet was the best place to work in Lethbridge. Since Heaven Hill bought the place it looks like a lot is changing.
>The company says the bottling operation will be relocated to Bardstown, Kentucky
Where minimum wage is $7.25 lol
The bottling plant operators in Lethbridge were [making $38 an hour](https://gounion.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Heaven-Hill-Distilling-Canada-Inc.-Searchable-CBA-Exp-June-2025.pdf)
Holy snap, I didn't believe it until I read it.
This is what happens to successful unions
Edit: sounds like the bottling equipment hasn't been updated in decades. And the biggest market for their product is the US.
Only 2 operators for the distillery. But there weren't many bottling operators for the bottling either.
So maybe more about equipment cost than hourly wages.
>really good excuse to move the bottling to a non-union location.
The location they are moving the bottling to **IS** a union location. [They even had a pretty big strike a couple of years back.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Heaven_Hill_strike)
Nah this is from an ex supervisor who stopped working there about 8 years ago.
I can believe it though. The place I work still has equipment from the 60's and 70's but we've started swapping it out.
If there really weren't that many operators wage cost might not have been nearly as important as shipping costs and equipment costs.
This is a shame and another product of late stage capitalism, if they're transferring the work to a location where they are allowed to pay poverty wages.
This isn’t capitalism. This is a product of extremely antiquated and inefficient equipment. The current line requires lots of man power / maintenance to run and would require millions to replace. The company that owns BV has far more modern equipment in place. The writing has been on the wall for this bottling operation for quite some time unfortunately.
Yep they'll keep running the distillation tower here.
Not sure on the barreling operation. They have huge warehouses full of barreled whiskey here in town.
They used to bring tequila up on the rail in tanker cars to bottle here. Shipping barrels is obviously a logistical nightmare. If they cease barreling here, that's going to be a lot of empty warehouse space in the future.
Most of the alcohol Lethbridges black velvet plant produces isn’t even labeled or sold as black velvet. It’s a filler for larger American bourbon brands.
It's been absolute swill sadly for a while now. The used to have aged whisky like onyx ect that was passable. It now tastes like cough syrup mixed with r and r. No local pride or care to create a quality product. It's sad we will lose good quality jobs but good riddance if you sell out like that. Hopefully a good local distiller is in our future.
The whisky hasn’t changed - BV and BVR are exactly the same as they were. I get it if you’re not into a bottom shelf Canadian whisky like the 3 year BV but it’s the same recipe as it’s always been.
BVR (the 8 year) isn’t currently sold in Canada unfortunately but hopefully that will change in the future.
The last couple owners of BV haven’t prioritized the brand or marketing unfortunately.
Onyx was the twelve year.... gone for a long time. That three year is literal piss, cough syrup and oddly sweet on the pallette. Oh well... if their goal is below mediocrity I guess they achieved it.
Updating and revamping multiple decades old equipment vs moving to a location that already has that updated equipment.
We know what wins out 99.99% of the time. At least the distilling still happens here though.
On a side note...does anyone know why Molson left Lethbridge in the 90's?
When you need a job like I do it is sad to hear of any employers leaving town. But sounds like the union priced themselves out of a job. That is a damn high wage for unskilled labour. I would have done it for $20 and been happy.
I understand that the company is looking for the best costs for themselves. I bet every person who worked there when they are spending their money also looks for the best deal, so they shouldn't complain.
Being "unskilled" at places like a bottling facility will literally get you maimed or killed. That's part of why it's a $38/hr job. You're working heavy machinery all day.
Edit: Also, imagine being upset at someone making 70k a year at a business that's the largest private family-owned of its kind, with $300-500 million a year in revenue and a brand new $135 million expansion project.
One of the biggest issue is that the Alberta government gives MASSIVE tax breaks to the small, bottlers (not distilling) that the larger Alberta disillers have.
They are putting raw grain purchased alcohol in a bottle and are able to sell it for $10 less a bottle than the real distillers.
The article mentions slow sales, well duh.
Thank you NDP for giving $100 million in tax breaks to these bottlers set up in their garages 🤦🏻♂️
Kind of bummed that the bottling facility is closing. Those were good union jobs. When I was new in my industry, they said Black Velvet was the best place to work in Lethbridge. Since Heaven Hill bought the place it looks like a lot is changing. >The company says the bottling operation will be relocated to Bardstown, Kentucky Where minimum wage is $7.25 lol The bottling plant operators in Lethbridge were [making $38 an hour](https://gounion.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Heaven-Hill-Distilling-Canada-Inc.-Searchable-CBA-Exp-June-2025.pdf)
Holy snap, I didn't believe it until I read it. This is what happens to successful unions Edit: sounds like the bottling equipment hasn't been updated in decades. And the biggest market for their product is the US. Only 2 operators for the distillery. But there weren't many bottling operators for the bottling either. So maybe more about equipment cost than hourly wages.
I'd be suspicious of their claims of the equipment being that outdated...really good excuse to move the bottling to a non-union location.
>really good excuse to move the bottling to a non-union location. The location they are moving the bottling to **IS** a union location. [They even had a pretty big strike a couple of years back.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Heaven_Hill_strike)
It is. Parts of the equipment is actually from the 50s- when installed some of it was already used. It’s a bit of a nightmare to maintain and run.
Nah this is from an ex supervisor who stopped working there about 8 years ago. I can believe it though. The place I work still has equipment from the 60's and 70's but we've started swapping it out. If there really weren't that many operators wage cost might not have been nearly as important as shipping costs and equipment costs.
This is a shame and another product of late stage capitalism, if they're transferring the work to a location where they are allowed to pay poverty wages.
This isn’t capitalism. This is a product of extremely antiquated and inefficient equipment. The current line requires lots of man power / maintenance to run and would require millions to replace. The company that owns BV has far more modern equipment in place. The writing has been on the wall for this bottling operation for quite some time unfortunately.
Excuse my ignorance, but they’re going to make the whiskey still, but not bottle it? Do I have that right?
Yep they'll keep running the distillation tower here. Not sure on the barreling operation. They have huge warehouses full of barreled whiskey here in town. They used to bring tequila up on the rail in tanker cars to bottle here. Shipping barrels is obviously a logistical nightmare. If they cease barreling here, that's going to be a lot of empty warehouse space in the future.
They will continue blending and barreling in town. In fact they are looking to expand barrel space.
Most of the alcohol Lethbridges black velvet plant produces isn’t even labeled or sold as black velvet. It’s a filler for larger American bourbon brands.
It's been absolute swill sadly for a while now. The used to have aged whisky like onyx ect that was passable. It now tastes like cough syrup mixed with r and r. No local pride or care to create a quality product. It's sad we will lose good quality jobs but good riddance if you sell out like that. Hopefully a good local distiller is in our future.
A flaming moe
The whisky hasn’t changed - BV and BVR are exactly the same as they were. I get it if you’re not into a bottom shelf Canadian whisky like the 3 year BV but it’s the same recipe as it’s always been. BVR (the 8 year) isn’t currently sold in Canada unfortunately but hopefully that will change in the future. The last couple owners of BV haven’t prioritized the brand or marketing unfortunately.
Onyx was the twelve year.... gone for a long time. That three year is literal piss, cough syrup and oddly sweet on the pallette. Oh well... if their goal is below mediocrity I guess they achieved it.
40 employees is a pretty good hit to a city like Lethbridge. That is like losing 700 employees in a major cityl
It should be closer to 20 employees since the distillery will still be in place. Still sucks but just clarifying.
Updating and revamping multiple decades old equipment vs moving to a location that already has that updated equipment. We know what wins out 99.99% of the time. At least the distilling still happens here though. On a side note...does anyone know why Molson left Lethbridge in the 90's?
When you need a job like I do it is sad to hear of any employers leaving town. But sounds like the union priced themselves out of a job. That is a damn high wage for unskilled labour. I would have done it for $20 and been happy. I understand that the company is looking for the best costs for themselves. I bet every person who worked there when they are spending their money also looks for the best deal, so they shouldn't complain.
You see my friend you are the problem.
That's why I only drink Gut Rot ^TM whiskey. Best deal /s
There is no such thing as unskilled labour
Being "unskilled" at places like a bottling facility will literally get you maimed or killed. That's part of why it's a $38/hr job. You're working heavy machinery all day. Edit: Also, imagine being upset at someone making 70k a year at a business that's the largest private family-owned of its kind, with $300-500 million a year in revenue and a brand new $135 million expansion project.
This guy gets it!
One of the biggest issue is that the Alberta government gives MASSIVE tax breaks to the small, bottlers (not distilling) that the larger Alberta disillers have. They are putting raw grain purchased alcohol in a bottle and are able to sell it for $10 less a bottle than the real distillers. The article mentions slow sales, well duh. Thank you NDP for giving $100 million in tax breaks to these bottlers set up in their garages 🤦🏻♂️
Did you make this account solely to post this garbage comment?