Salt City Coffee employees try to become 1st at locally owned coffee shop to unionize

Workers across all Salt City Coffee locations filed a petition to unionize on Monday, citing the need for raises, more transparency around benefits, and workplace stability.

If successful, 50 baristas, bartenders, barbacks, and coffee roasters at the company’s four locations would be the first to form a union at a locally owned coffee company in Syracuse. Their effort is aided by Workers United, an affiliate of the larger Service Employees International Union that helped kick off a wave of workplace organizing at several Starbucks locations in Buffalo two years ago. 

To unionize, workers would need to be voluntarily recognized by the company, which is what workers have demanded from ownership, or win a union election to be certified under the National Labor Relations Board. Workers need union cards signed by at least 30% of the bargaining unit to trigger an election.

Workers say they have learned about the unionization process and labor organizing since the start of the year, aiming to improve working conditions at one of the fastest growing local chains in the city. 

They notified ownership of their intentions and of internal support reaching a majority of workers via a letter also filed with the NLRB Monday, but they say they have not received a response from Salt City’s ownership.

Aaron Metthe, a co-owner of Salt City, declined via email to answer questions about the unionization effort.

“This is very new and surprising information and (I’m) taking some time to educate myself,” Metthe said. 

Despite the alleged lack of communication from ownership, workers say the prospect of unionization has already caused tensions between ownership and the rank and file. 

Connor Thornton, the company’s head roaster, was told Monday by Metthe he would be laid off in the coming two to three weeks for performance reasons, citing ownership’s desire for Thornton to take on more managerial duties and training. Thornton has been with the company for two years and said he feels he has helped build the company by beefing up its coffee roasting program and bringing in wholesaling revenue.

“I’ve explicitly stated on several occasions that I don’t have any interest in managing people. I’ve done it before, I don’t want to do it again,” he said.

Thornton alleges the firing was retaliatory as it occurred after the petition was filed and because the reasoning behind his termination seemed settled during previous conversations.

“It felt like a non-issue, an excuse, and something that we had already moved past,” he said. “It might have been an attempt to handicap our movement before it went live.”

Thornton has continued to go to work since.

“I can’t afford to lose a week’s worth of pay,” he noted.

In their letter to Metthe, workers demanded Thornton retain his position, also characterizing the firing as retaliatory. Workers have also called for increased wages, more transparency around benefits, a quicker timeline for repairs to equipment, and a say in how company decisions affect employees. 

Quinn Etoll, a barista at the location on West Onondaga Street, said the company has set a precedent of keeping pace with the yearly increases to the upstate New York minimum wage. This year, Etoll said, wages have remained stagnant. 

She currently makes $14.20, the same as the minimum wage last year in upstate New York, plus tips. When she asked management if wages would go up again to the $15 minimum wage that took into effect on Jan. 1, she was told the rate would remain the same.

“That really rubbed me the wrong way,” Etoll said. “I was expecting to make more money and the company didn’t let us know ahead of time. They just kind of let us find out about it.”

Regarding benefits, Thornton and Etoll said the company has not been transparent about specific state-mandated perks like paid sick leave until recently. In New York, a company with fewer than 100 employees, such as Salt City Coffee, is required to provide 40 hours of paid sick leave to every worker. Workers typically accrue at least one 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, according to state labor law.

Etoll said she found out she could access paid sick leave just a few weeks ago at a union planning meeting with other workers.

Broken down or malfunctioning equipment is also something workers would like to see addressed more timely. When an appliance breaks down that helps baristas work more efficiently, it can take months for management to provide a fix, Etoll said. 

For instance, ice machines have broken down more than once at the West Onondaga Street location, which has required workers to go to convenience stores to buy ice or use ice machines in different rooms. 

“They’re things that aren’t necessarily the end of the world, but they make our lives harder,” Etoll said.  “Nobody wants to wait 15 minutes for a latte and we don’t want to spend 15 minutes making them.”

Workers also say they want to feel more job security. Thornton said he would like a better dialogue between workers and management regarding worker improvement and feedback. 

“We should be able to talk about why we are written up and have a plan… but I just got laid off and the reason I was given was complete bullsh*t,” Thornton said. “I don’t want to have to worry about that for myself and for other people.”

For Etoll, forming a union would allow workers to better a job they already love. She says making drinks for customers is one of the highlights of her day.

“It is sometimes the bright spot of their day,” she said. “But when we’re fighting with management to be paid the way we deserve to be paid, or fighting to get sick leave, and fighting to just get through the next day… it’s harder to be that bright spot.”

If workers succeed, they would join hundreds of coffee industry workers who have successfully unionized other regional coffee chains in upstate New York, like Gimme! Coffee and Spot Coffee in Rochester and Buffalo.

“It would be massive,” Thornton said. “It feels like a long time coming.”