La Colombe Baristas in LA Are Unionizing for Better Working Conditions

A majority of baristas at La Colombe locations in Silver Lake and Century City have voted to unionize, according to a statement released on Wednesday, March 9, via the La Colombe Workers Union Twitter account. The collection of workers is fighting for better wages, consistent raises, regular schedules, improved working conditions, and more. The employees are authorizing United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770 to represent them in collective bargaining and will be pursuing a union election through the National Labor Relations Board.

Per the statement, “Our campaign joins a national wave of workers across the coffee and food service industry. We aspire to come together and wield our collective power to advocate for ourselves, our fellow workers, and the labor movement as a whole.”

In response to the organizing campaign, La Colombe sent Eater LA the following statement: “It has always been our preference to have direct and transparent conversations with all of our people — part-time, full-time, new, and tenured — so that we can understand their individuals needs and personal circumstances. This is how we keep our La Colombe teams close, supported, and move quickly to address their concerns.”

La Colombe’s two other Los Angeles locations in Beverly Hills and Frogtown are not taking part in the unionizing effort. Nationally, La Colombe’s workers in Washington, D.C. (Chinatown location) and Chicago (Andersonville, Armitage, West Loop, and Gold Coast locations) have successfully unionized their shops.