Sony Music has announced it will close a Minneapolis warehouse run by Kings Road Merch, which fulfils merchandise for punk acts including Rancid, Descendents, Dropkick Murphys and Converge, prompting staff to accuse the company of union-busting. Warehouse workers had voted unanimously to unionise on 11 May this year under Teamsters Local 970, citing pay discrepancies and unfair contracts, and Sony formally announced the closure on 23 June — hours before its first scheduled bargaining session with the union. The dispute highlights tensions over labour organising after a major label's acquisition of an independent merch supplier.

Sony, which bought Kings Road Merch in June 2025 via its subsidiary The Orchard, says the closure decision had been "many months in the making" and was disclosed to the Teamsters in an April Zoom call, though it declined to share supporting evidence. Union president Chad Reichow said he had treated that warning as a corporate bluff and pressed ahead with the election, while conceding that the closure could be a legitimate business choice despite its poor timing. Workers reported low base pay and overtime underpayment under Sony's ownership — issues later addressed through backpay — and Kings Road, founded by Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz and also serving clients such as Neko Case and Tom Waits, had relocated from Los Angeles to Minneapolis in June 2023. Sony says it is committed to negotiating a fair separation arrangement, has presented a severance agreement, and that some staff may remain to support independent artists.