May Bargaining Update
Hello BBIU baristas,
On Tuesday, May 19 and Wednesday, May 20 our bargaining team met with the company’s representatives to negotiate our first contract. Proposals exchanged between the company and the union are linked at the bottom of the page.
Here’s what you need to know:
Our bargaining team made substantial progress in getting Blue Bottle to provide more consistent schedules. For the past year and a half, our Union has demanded that Blue Bottle provide a guaranteed minimum number of hours for part timers, set schedules for baristas who request one, and agree to ban “clopening” shifts. Blue Bottle is finally beginning to concede on these.
Blue Bottle will end arbitrary and uneven enforcement of tardiness. Our union discussed creating a point system for lateness. Having a point system in place will prevent management from being able to terrorize baristas with the possibility of disciplining them for petty attendance violations from a long time ago.
Blue Bottle has begun to offer some limitations on their Management’s Rights. Although they’ve specified where they do not retain the right to make changes, Blue Bottle still wants to retain as much control of our working lives as possible. Preserving our union’s right to negotiate changes will ensure that our contract is strong and enforceable.
The biggest concession: Workweek protections
At this month’s bargaining session, our union made significant progress at getting Blue Bottle to concede on a fundamental demand: to provide consistent schedules. For the past year, our Union has asked Blue Bottle to agree to “Fair Workweek” provisions similar to what they are required to by law in other cities.
Our proposal:
Would guarantee a minimum of 15 hours per week for part timers.
Would require the company to provide set schedules for employees who request one.
Would require the company to provide new employees with a good-faith example of what shifts they can typically expect.
Would ban “clopening” shifts.
Would make café leaders responsible for finding coverage for callouts. If a callout could not be found, our proposal would require the company to evenly split the amount of wages that the employee who called out would have earned in their scheduled shift among the employees working during that time, according to the number of overlapping hours worked.
Blue Bottle’s proposal:
Says that the company will try their best to give part timers a minimum of 10 hours per week.
Would ban “clopening shifts”
Would split responsibility for callouts between the company and the employee calling out. Their proposal would not require the company to provide additional compensation to baristas who are short-staffed.
Although our union has begun making significant progress at the table, the crumbs that Blue Bottle is offering are not enough. The company still has not provided any offer to increase wages. Only through collective solidarity and action will we win the changes that we truly deserve.
