A Blue Bottle Espresso cup. Inventory photograph.
Unionized baristas at Blue Bottle Espresso staged a multi-day strike over the Thanksgiving procuring weekend, intensifying a year-long contract struggle with the Nestle-owned firm.
Roughly 120 employees throughout 9 unionized cafes in better Boston and California’s East Bay walked off the job starting Wednesday, Nov. 26, within the strike organized by the Blue Bottle Unbiased Union (BBIU), the group stated.
The walkout affected six Boston-area retailers plus three Bay Space cafes in Berkeley, Previous Oakland and Piedmont, with picket strains and calls for patrons to boycott Blue Bottle till a primary contract is reached.
In accordance with a Harvard Crimson report, the BBIU is looking for a beginning wage of $30 an hour in Boston based mostly on the MIT Residing Wage Calculator, together with raises tied to seniority, predictable scheduling and stronger protections in opposition to harassment and arbitrary self-discipline.
In an announcement shared with DCN, BBIU stated employees have reported “deteriorating working circumstances” since Blue Bottle was acquired by Nestle in 2017 for about $500 million.
The union has alleged a number of unfair labor practices previously 12 months, citing the latest termination of BBIU treasurer and communications director Abbey Sadow, a Boston-area barista, for an alleged gown code violation.
“Blue Bottle baristas see 46% of their earnings going in direction of lease, with roughly a 3rd of baristas paying over 60% of their earnings towards their lease,” BBIU stated in a press launch on the eve of the strike. “Blue Bottle Espresso operates in a number of the most costly cities within the U.S., and all over the world. With stagnant wages and a refusal to discount, the baristas have determined it’s time to take motion.”
In an announcement to the Boston Globe early final week, a Blue Bottle spokesperson stated the corporate is dedicated to bargaining in good religion and has responded to all proposals introduced forth by the union. That echoes an announcement the corporate offered to DCN when Boston-area employees first voted in favor of unionization in Could 2024.
Blue Bottle at the moment has roughly 78 cafes all through the U.S., plus dozens extra in six different nations.
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