The owners of Salt City Coffee are responding to a request from their employees to form a union.
A statement from co-founder Aaron Metthe, said the company will voluntarily pursue recognizing Workers United, SEIU, as the exclusive bargaining representative for its employees. It adds, under federal law, employers can voluntarily recognize a union as long as a majority of the employees sought in the petition support being represented by that union.
Metthe said he's working cooperatively with Workers United to confirm the workers have the necessary majority support. Once they confirm that, the owners plan to recognize the union and begin bargaining for their first contract.
The statement goes on to say, "We look forward to a congenial and collaborative relationship with the Union throughout this process. For those who have sought to assume the worst up to this point, it is important to note that we were initially caught off guard by the Union’s petition and what it meant. To be honest, the last several days have been incredibly overwhelming. We have felt confused and, at times, verbally attacked by outsiders, while we were simply trying to digest what has occurred, as well as to understand our obligations. In short, we needed time to gather all the facts, weigh our options and arrive at a decision; the way any thoughtful employer should.
"As a small, family-owned business, we have given our heart and soul to this Company and this community. We selected our locations around Syracuse with a goal of making Salt City a part of the unique communities that surround the City of Syracuse, while also enhancing and bringing new life to those communities."
About a dozen employees gathered outside Salt City Coffee's University Ave location on Monday, holding signs and chanting to gain support for their union efforts.
President of the Syracuse Labor Council Mark Spadafore said the council and the 35,000 union members it represents are supporting the workers in their efforts.
“As a community, we need to stand up and say this is the way this process should go,” he said. “We should respect workers’ right to make the decision for themselves, whether they want a union or not, and as you can see right here, these workers are united and they want to have a better place to work.”
One of the workers organizing the union effort, Quinn Etoll, said she has a message for Salt City Coffee’s owners:
“We love our jobs. The reason why we’re unionizing is because we love our jobs, and we want our jobs to be better, not because we’re unhappy with the company,” she said.
