What Does It Take to Begin a Union?

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0:55Emma Delaney:People were really sick and tired of feeling disposable. and we did not want to feel disposable anymore. And really, truly, the turning point was just having the information and having the resources to do it.

1:13Emma Delaney:I was a barista for about six years, ever since high school. I truly didn't think of myself as a career person. I was just gonna work in food service until I figured something else out. and then honestly organizing kind of hit me like a truck. There's a like a colloquial term that's barista hopping where you go from one coffee shop to the next thinking it's going to be better but it ends up being about the same. It was getting to a point where I was about at the end of my food service rope. It had just been a very long time. I just wanted something that didn't make me feel like I had to rest for three days after one shift.

1:56Emma Delaney:I think the turning point really came just out of being exhausted from working through the pandemic and being considered disposable workers, while also at the same time society was showing us that we were essential workers because we were seeing hundreds of people a day and public facing, having to fight people on wearing masks and then being treated rather poorly. People were really sick and tired of feeling disposable, and we did not want to feel disposable anymore. When I first heard about a union, it was through my roommate. She just kind of called me one morning and was like, what if you unionize pavement?

2:32Emma Delaney:And I said, I don't know what that means. Tell me more.

2:38Emma Delaney:Being in a union essentially looks like all of your coworkers just coming together to support each other. and then there's a lot more on like a technical level that happens such as like you now literally have 50 % of the say in your working terms and conditions which is massive and it's just a legally enforceable process that makes it so yes you're coming together and acting collectively but there's also some accountability from management and there are certain things in place that they have to follow. If they want to change anything they can't do it without bargaining with you first. When we had issues with management, we would go to them, we would ask them to do something about the problems we were facing.

3:21Emma Delaney:It was generally met with empty promises, and we just wanted there to be something that held them accountable to what we were asking for. We were fighting a lot for just mostly having a say in our working terms and conditions, and that was ranging from scheduling to pay is part of it. Another part is just cause and discipline because in the United States you're an at-will employee so you can be fired for any reason except unless it's based in discrimination and even then the burden of proof is on the worker. So we really wanted something set in place of if you're going to be fired, there's going to be all of these steps before and you're gonna be very aware of what is happening and you have a grievance procedure along the way.

4:06Emma Delaney:I don't really think that we were that afraid of being fired because the night before we were actually in my apartment. That night ended up turning into all of us rallying around if one person gets fired, we are turning off the toasters, we're walking out, we're not standing for it. It was just a really beautiful moment of solidarity. I've never felt so much support in one room before and it was just a really great, energizing, wonderful moment to go into the next day with, which was, it was a big day. It was a very chaotic and energy-filled day. The next morning, we handed the demand letter to management, and I think that they were in shock, honestly, because you didn't really hear about coffee shops organizing.

4:55Emma Delaney:It wasn't an industry that was thought of as one that you organize. So I think everyone was just kind of like, wow, like this is actually happening. And they decided to voluntarily recognize us, which was unheard of. I remember an organizer at the time saying that he would jump off a roof if that happened because it was so unheard of for this to happen. So the fact that it did floored us. From there, we were a union and now we are in a contract fight.

5:26Emma Delaney:I think young people specifically are really energized by this movement because it just seemed really kind of hopeless, honestly, like especially when the pandemic hit. Just the system is not set up for us. I think because it's so tangible and so possible, that's why it's really taken off. It's something that we can actively do to change our working terms and conditions and and therefore our life trajectories. I never expected to be here, but I am so grateful that I have found this path and that I am here now.