MILWAUKEE – On Monday, workers at Colectivo Coffee won an election to form a union by a margin of 106-99, after the National Labor Relations Board opened up seven challenged ballots that were uncounted during the first count, which resulted in a 99-99 tie result.
Milwaukee County Supervisors Ryan Clancy, Priscilla Coggs-Jones, Eddie Cullen, Joseph J. Czarnezki, Russell Antonio Goodwin, Sr., Jason Haas, Willie Johnson, Jr., Felesia Martin, Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, Shawn Rolland, Liz Sumner, Steven Shea, Sequanna Taylor, John Weishan, Jr., and Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson released the following statement congratulating Colectivo Coffee workers on their successful unionization effort, and calling on Colectivo ownership to bargain in good faith with employees moving forward:
“Congratulations to the union organizers and workers who seek redress for their workplace issues. This election shows the importance of every vote being counted. The seven votes that Colectivo sought to block proved crucial for the success of the union.
“As Colectivo is now likely the largest café chain in the United States to unionize, we hope that this sets a trend for other service industry workers both in Milwaukee and across the country.
“We call on the ownership of Colectivo Coffee to respect the results of this historic election and bargain in good faith with their employees during negotiations over this first union contract.”
Colectivo workers voted to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 494 which will develop the group’s first negotiated contract, pending the election’s certification by the National Labor Relations Board.
