Compass Coffee Union Vote Mired in Challenges

Compass Coffee and workers at seven locations in Washington, D.C., and Virginia are facing uncertainty following a union election on Tuesday. The union, Compass Coffee United, led at all bargaining units with 22 votes cast in favor of the union and none cast against it. About 101 voters were challenged and their ballots were impounded by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) without being opened and counted. In all five elections, the number of challenged ballots is greater than the margin of victory.

The number of votes cast — 123 ballots — far exceeds the estimated number of workers in the bargaining units at the time the union filed for elections, which was 47. In June, shortly after the union drive began, Compass Coffee began hiring large numbers of new workers, a step that Compass explained as seasonal hiring and filling vacant positions but that workers say is aimed at increasing the vote against unionization.

Penina Meier-Silverman, a shift supervisor and pro-union worker, told Restaurant Dive that the union challenged scores of ballots cast by new hires that the union believes did not work the number of hours required for eligibility according to the stipulated election agreement between Compass Coffee and Compass Coffee United. The election agreement holds that eligible workers must average at least four hours a week over the 13 weeks preceding the election, meaning they need to work at least 52 total hours over that timeframe.

Compass Coffee United may still end up representing the workers in those cafes if the challenged ballots tip the election against the union. The union has alleged in NLRB filings that Compass committed unfair labor practices during the election, including alleged retaliatory changes to disciplinary practices.

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