Better Buzz Coffee continues to grow and now has over 20 locations in Southern California and beyond. This includes opening modern branches in Arizona.
SAN DIEGO — Some workers at the Hillcrest branch of Better Buzz Coffee have officially submitted a petition to United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135. This is the first step toward unionizing the Hillcrest location. Hillcrest workers will likely vote next month on whether to form a union.
Organizer Ben Leighton says they love their clients and colleagues, but corporate managers don’t feel the same way about them.
“We are not treated by management the way we deserve,” Leighton said. We feel we are ignored.
The group representing its team says it wants better pay and benefits.
Katy Jae Waldman, who issued a statement on behalf of the group last Friday, said she hoped employees would benefit from the company’s rapid growth. But that didn’t happen.
“Their profits are soaring, but their workers are suffering,” Waldman said in the release.
On Wednesday, CBS 8 spoke with Waldman and two other employees about recent unionization efforts.
“We’re only doing this because it’s our last choice,” Waldman told CBS 8.
They are also fighting for more predictable hours and scheduling.
“We have nothing,” she said. “We are paid minimum wage, have no benefits, and only have as much time off as required by the state of California.”
This effort follows a recent boost in the minimum wage for speedy food workers in California. Baristas currently earn minimum wage in the city of San Diego, which is $16.85 per hour.
Waldman says it’s not enough to live in one of the most pricey cities in the country.
“No one, not even a full-time worker — which is something Better Buzz doesn’t offer — can even afford to pay for a one-bedroom apartment on that salary.”
Better Buzz Coffee continues to grow and now has over 20 locations in Southern California and beyond. This includes opening modern branches in Arizona.
Waldman sees the expansion as an opportunity to assist employees.
“In times of such expansion, their employees should be able to share the gains from this,” she said. “We are the ones who make the coffee and bring them the money.”
Another Hillcrest branch employee, Jackson Ducksworth, hopes other locations will follow suit.
“I think there is a general feeling among all employees that we definitely deserve more than we have received so far,” he said. – I think we’ll get it.
CBS 8 reached out to Better Buzz for comment and did not hear back before publication.
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