November bargaining update
Hello BBIU baristas,
Our bargaining team met with the Company on November 18 and 19, continuing our fight for a fair contract.
The takeaways:
Blue Bottle still has not given the Union any good faith counter to our economic demands. Blue Bottle flailed and failed to provide an adequate counter on promotions that consider seniority.
We stressed the importance of wages that baristas can live on, citing a union survey showing that a quarter of baristas rely on SNAP/EBT benefits. The company responded by insulting their workforce, asking how much baristas spend on streaming services and arguing that baristas were irresponsible with their money.
The company is refusing to provide a counter to our Fair Workweek proposal, which would provide consistent schedules, guarantee hours for part-timers, and make managers responsible for callouts.
On multiple occasions the company’s lawyer went on bizarre and irrelevant tirades about how the so-called “free market” would provide decent wages and determine which employees deserve to be promoted. The company insulted our right to fight for better wages and working conditions with their lawyer stating that, “by certifying the union and getting the bargaining right, there’s no right tobe treated better than folks in other parts of the country.”
As always, the proposals passed back and forth between us and the company are linked below.
What won’t they move on?
The company is still refusing to provide a good faith counter to:
Promotions
Uniforms
Fair Workweek protections, which would provide baristas with consistent schedules, guaranteed hours for part-timers, and make managers responsible for callouts.
Any of our economic proposals, including for a living wage
The day after the bargaining session, on November 20, Blue Bottle illegally fired Abbey Sadow, our union’s Secretary-Treasurer and Communications Director. Her termination is a complete and grotesque assault on our right to organize. We are demanding her reinstatement by the end of the day Monday, November 24.
Is “management rights” a nicer phrase for “workplace fascism”?
The company’s most recent offer for economics was to maintain the status quo and to retain full discretion to change any benefits without negotiating with the Union. The company’s priority has been to incessantly ask about so-called “management’s rights” and force the Union into a discussion over a waiver of our bargaining rights. It’s as if we’ve been told to shut up and accept things the way they already are. So-called “management rights” are antithetical to the vision our union has of a workplace where the input of baristas actually matters.
Our union is calling for a strike
After a year of bad faith surface bargaining, our baristas have grown tired of struggling to make ends meet, which is why we’ve voted overwhelmingly in favor of taking strike action. 92% of our members voted in favor of authorizing a strike. We will not stand idly by and accept bad faith bargaining, the termination of one of our highest ranking officers, and other unfair labor practices.
Want to ensure a successful strike?
Keep an eye on your email for more information about picket times, strike pay, and other logistics! If you have any questions, reach out to a union rep or the store delegate decided upon in Friday night’s meeting.
Become a dues paying member! With options as low as $2/month, contributing helps maintain our strike fund and ensures that baristas will be able to stay out on the line. Members who sign up before Dec. 1 will receive a commemorative pin.
Share our union’s boycott pledge with friends and family!
See you on the picket line!
