Blue Bottle baristas walk out over threat to illegally install surveillance cameras
Blue Bottle baristas walk out over threat to illegally install surveillance cameras
Boston, MA - Today, baristas from the Blue Bottle Independent Union (BBIU) conducted a walkout across 5 out of 6 stores in the Boston area after giving Blue Bottle the chance to return to bargaining in good faith. At 12pm on Tuesday May 6th, baristas left their stores to protest Blue Bottle’s unilateral decision to install surveillance cameras in Boston cafés.
Since beginning collective bargaining in October of 2024, Blue Bottle, a coffee chain owned by the major conglomerate Nestlé, has attempted to declare impasse twice. Most recently, the company declared impasse over negotiations regarding the installation of cameras within the unionized cafés. The Union had been considering the installation of cameras as part of a package for their first contract, but wanted workers to be protected from unjust discipline stemming from this constant surveillance. Rather than continue bargaining over the package, for which the Union proposed just cause protections for discipline, the Union alleges that the Company illegally declared impasse in negotiations over the installation of surveillance cameras in bad faith.
Vice President of BBIU, Alex Pyne, says that the Company cannot legally install cameras “without first reaching an impasse in negotiations for the entire collective bargaining agreement.” They added “In previous bargaining sessions, the company told us that they felt agreeing to the installation of union bulletin boards was a fair trade for allowing them to install cameras, which is obviously absurd.”
The Union won NLRB recognition in May of 2024, with a whopping 38-4 vote in favor of unionizing, becoming the first to organize an independent coffee union. Since winning recognition, however, BBIU alleges that Blue Bottle has become increasingly hostile to baristas. The Union has filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against the Company over retaliation, unilateral changes to working conditions, and now with their decision to bypass the bargaining process in order to unilaterally install surveillance cameras which the union alleges would be used to discipline baristas.
In spite of the Company’s actions, the baristas remain adamant about their goal: winning a contract with livable wages, protection from harassment, consistent scheduling, and “workplace democracy.” Barista, Abbey Sadow, added “Our workplaces could be so much better and we’ll keep fighting in spite of Blue Bottle’s attempts to make them worse at every turn.”
