Colectivo Coffee employees ratify first union contract

Jun 8, 2023 2:00 pm

DSC_0923---Colectivo-Coffee — Colectivo's Third Ward cafe on St. Paul Ave.

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After about a year of negotiations, employees at Milwaukee-based Colectivo Coffee Roasters Inc. have ratified their first union contract. More than 95% of the 600 union members – represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – voted in favor of the two-year collective bargaining agreement with Colectivo’s owners and management, according to a news

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After about a year of negotiations, employees at Milwaukee-based Colectivo Coffee Roasters Inc. have ratified their first union contract. More than 95% of the 600 union members - represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - voted in favor of the two-year collective bargaining agreement with Colectivo's owners and management, according to a news release from IBEW on Wednesday.

As part of the agreement, employees will receive pay raises, additional paid holidays, minimum shift times, required rest periods between shifts and enhanced paid time off accrual rates and sick leave hours. The contract also includes new policies for breaks, schedule posting, layoffs and recalls. It also established a union leadership infrastructure and meeting schedule for its joint safety committee and labor/management committee, an IBEW Local 494 spokesperson said.

The vote came about 14 months after the National Labor Relations Board issued a final decision recognizing IBEW Local 494 and Local 1220 as bargaining unit representatives for Colectivo employees in Milwaukee, Madison (Local 494) and Chicago (Local 1220).

The group, known as the Colectivo Collective, had been campaigning to unionize since mid-2020 as health and safety concerns arose amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers voted to unionize by a 106 to 99 vote in August 2021, but the final decision process dragged on due to repeated legal pushback by company ownership.

At the time of the vote, union representatives claimed Colectivo as the largest unionized coffee chain in the U.S.

"This contract ratification is the culmination of the efforts of hundreds of workers over the past three years," said Hillary Laskonis, a Milwaukee-area Colectivo employee and member of the organizing committee. "We could not have made it to this point without their bravery, the tireless work of the folks at the IBEW, as well as the vocal support of thousands of customers and members of the community."

"We could not be prouder of the workers of the Colectivo Collective, who for three years now have been putting in the work to stand up and make sure their voices are heard in their workplace," said Dean Warsh and John Rizzo, business managers of Local 494 and Local 1220 respectively. "This has been a long and inspiring journey and we look forward to the road ahead as we continue to build and strengthen our partnership with Colectivo Coffee Roasters." Owners of Colectivo Coffee did not respond to request for comment. The chain has 12 cafe locations in the Milwaukee area, three is Madison and five in Chicago.

Colectivo Coffee employees ratify first union contract

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