Amid Investigations Into Potential Healthcare Violations, Verve Coffee Baristas Move To Unionize – CoffeeTalk

A labor dispute is brewing at Verve Coffee, a premium Bay Area coffee company. Some 60 workers have taken the first steps in forming a union to negotiate better pay and other benefits through a new employment contract. The initial action covers one cafe in San Francisco and two in Santa Cruz, where the company is headquartered. Verve has seven other locations across the state, including two roasteries, that the workers said they are in negotiations with to form a larger “wall-to-wall” group. Workers leading the effort said they felt compelled to organize over claims of pay disparities, inconsistent scheduling, and a lack of corporate transparency, issues they allege management has failed to address.

An official union vote, during which officers will be elected, is scheduled for later this week. The effort is currently limited to Verve baristas, though it could be expanded to include roasters and other workers. Verve Coffee is being audited by San Francisco’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement for potential violations of the city’s Health Care Security Ordinance, a law which requires businesses with 20 or more employees to set aside money to provide workers with health care benefits in lieu of insurance.

Verve Coffee came under scrutiny in its hometown for recently adding a 5% surcharge on all orders to “help provide health and other employee benefits.” According to an investigation by Lookout Santa Cruz, the charge caused friction between cafe employees and management because many baristas only work part-time and do not qualify for medical benefits. The city labor office does not publicly disclose details about ongoing investigations, but email correspondence reviewed by The Standard show that the city is currently auditing Verve’s health care spending from 2022 to 2025.

Verve Coffee, founded in 2007 by Colby Barr and Ryan O’Donovan, is a private company and has not publicly disclosed its financials. However, several industry analysts estimate its annual revenue exceeds $62 million and employs more than 250 people. In comparison, Blue Bottle Coffee, which was acquired by Nestle in 2017, rakes in an estimated $386 million in annual sales. Last month, workers at four East Bay Blue Bottle locations also formed their own union amid allegations of economic exploitation and concerns over health care benefits and staffing.

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