Employees of the Colectivo Coffee shop chain voted to ratify their first labor agreement Wednesday after organizing a union in 2021.
The union announced that the contract will last for two years and provides benefits for about 90 workers in the Chicagoland area and 500 throughout Wisconsin. The agreement includes pay raises (4% the first year and 2.7% the next), paid sick leave, better schedule rules, guaranteed health insurance, 401(k) contributions and regular meetings on safety. The benefits will cover baristas, administrative workers and some bakery and warehouse employees in Wisconsin.
This win coincides with efforts by Starbucks workers nationwide to unionize, much to the chagrin of the company. Several of the Starbucks Workers United union’s leaders were fired by the company in union-busting efforts that the company repeatedly denied. The Colectivo workers met similar challenges from the company when trying to organize, but they were ultimately awarded the ability to negotiate by the National Labor Relations Board in March 2022.
Other workers in Illinois received a win when Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed a law guaranteeing 40 hours of paid sick leave to all workers earlier this year. That legislation will go into effect in January.