Blue Bottle Coffee Workers Unionizing In California – CoffeeTalk

Blue Bottle Coffee workers in the East Bay are seeking unionization, marking the first time in California that staff at four locations in the Bay Area have joined the East Coast locations of the Bay Area-founded chain in forming a collective bargaining unit. Staff at Berkeley and three Oakland locations are asking the company to voluntarily recognize the Blue Bottle Independent Union by Friday at noon to commence bargaining. According to the union, an “overwhelming majority” of workers at these locations signed union cards.

The Bay Area’s high cost of living and Blue Bottle’s lack of health care benefits led the workers to seek unionization, according to Alex Reyes, a Blue Bottle employee for the past 10 years currently working as a shift lead at the Berkeley location. The company has taken progressive stances on issues such as paying coffee producers a fair price for their beans and temporarily doing away with single-use containers.

Blue Bottle has taken progressive stances on issues such as paying coffee producers a fair price for their beans and temporarily doing away with single-use containers. However, getting the company to recognize the union looks like an uphill battle, but Reyes believes there is support among customers. He believes that the workers are the face of the company and that support will be high when it spreads.

Read More @ SF Chronicle