If victorious, the workers will be the first locations of over 200 corporate cafes to successfully unionize
Special to the Vanguard
DAVIS, CA – On Monday, November 28, workers at the North Davis and Downtown Davis Peet’s Coffee locations filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Workers are joining a growing wave of unionization at coffee chains across the country, following the precedent set by workers at coffee companies like Colectivo Coffee, Starbucks, and Spot Coffee.
Peet’s workers are filing their locations with Workers United-SEIU, the same union that represents Spot Coffee and the Starbucks Workers United campaign. Workers cited being inspired by organizing Starbucks workers as a key motivation for their organizing efforts.
There are 208 corporate Peet’s locations in the United States, with a vast majority of the stores located in the state of California. If successful, the North Davis and Downtown Davis locations will be the first corporate Peet’s cafes to successfully unionize.
“In a union, I feel protected as a worker. Therefore I no longer feel like the best option is to leave the business I work for but instead improve it” said Trinity Salazar, one worker at the North Davis location. “Not just for myself, but for everyone I work with.” “Unionizing is important to me because I’m passionate about my job and want it to be sustainable and fun for me, my current and even my future coworkers!” said Alyx Land, one worker at the North Davis location.
“For me, I’m organizing because we deserve a say in how our workplace is run and we deserve to be fairly compensated for the value we create. It’s also about having a support system and a set of procedures if we’re mistreated by our company.” said Schroedter Kinman, one worker at the Downtown Davis location.