Unionizing gives you and your coworkers a say in your wages, working conditions, and benefits. But what if you got as far as the negotiating table only to have your boss try to maintain control over the very things you’re there to negotiate?
That’s where Blue Bottle baristas find themselves right now. Up against Blue Bottle, the upscale coffee chain owned by Nestlé, they’ve fought hard and made real progress on their union contract. Last fall, they held a four-day strike at all nine unionized locations. Despite that, Blue Bottle is digging its heels in at the bargaining table, putting forth proposals that would give the company control over wages and working conditions.
Here’s an excerpt from the union’s most recent bargaining session:
“This month, our union has one major takeaway from bargaining: Blue Bottle is outright refusing to negotiate a contract and is demanding that we waive most of our rights under the National Labor Relations Act as a condition of bargaining.
Specifically, Blue Bottle is demanding that our Union completely waive our rights to engage in any form of legally protected protest against the company, and waive our right to bargain over changes to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
During our January session, our Union made a significant concession by offering the company a standard “Management Rights” provision. Despite this movement, Blue Bottle is now holding negotiations hostage. They are refusing to bargain any other part of the contract until our union agrees to their so-called “Management Rights” provision and waives our right to engage in any legally protected protest against the company.”
If you’ve ever formed a union at your own workplace, then you know that workers don’t organize just to win a union election–they organize to be strike ready, because our true power lies in our ability to disrupt business as usual for our employer.
In Solidarity,
The Labor Force
Sources: https://www.bluebottleunion.org/blog/march-2026-bargaining-update