Lamplighter Brewing Co. workers successfully vote to unionize, local representatives say

Beers from Lamplighter Brewing in Cambridge.Adam DeTour

Workers at both locations of Cambridge brewery Lamplighter Brewing Co. have voted to unionize.

Following a majority vote in favor of unionization Friday, all 45 employees across Lamplighter’s two brewing facilities and taprooms now join more than 11,000 other workers in New England‘s retail, grocery, and food processing industries represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445. The local chapter is a branch of UFCW, an international union with over 1 million members across the United States and Canada, including thousands in distilleries, wineries, and breweries, according to its website.

Friday’s vote, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, caps a months-long unionization bid that started last summer and ramped up in February, when workers met with management to request recognition and kicked off the election process.

Lamplighter ownership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I’m so glad we won this election and can now move to securing our first contract,” Gabe Packevicz, lead bartender at Lamplighter in Cambridge Crossing, wrote in a news release. “When you work in a small business, it’s crucial that everyone gets to have their voice heard, and our union is the best way to achieve that.”

Workers and union representatives will now sit down to begin the processing of drafting proposals for contract negotiation. Lamplighter workers are looking to negotiate higher wages, increased job security, more stable scheduling, better benefits, and more input in the direction of their company.

The brewery opened its first location and on-site taproom in 2016 on Cambridge’s Broadway before expanding to a second facility at Cambridge Crossing in 2022. Lamplighter is a distributor to local liquor stores, bars, and restaurants, and it served more than a dozen signature beers to patrons at its locations.

“With a union contract, we’ll continue to deliver the welcoming atmosphere and quality that makes us special,” Ryan McFarland, lead bartender at Lamplighter Broadway, wrote in the announcement. “I’m proud to work in a place where all of the staff – from production and kitchen, to the front of house and sales team, to the people who clean every morning – have a seat at the table.”

Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.