Wonderstate Coffee employs six workers, consisting of baristas, kitchen staff and cashiers. As of December 16, these six workers have formed a bargaining unit. As a collective organization, they will begin negotiating for wage increases, benefits and terms of secure employment.

Their success in unionizing was timely. The company is closing the café for an undetermined amount of time, citing concerns about COVID-19. Without a union, Wonderstate workers would be at the will of the company. They would have no assurances of their continued employment whenever the café reopens. Several months ago, kitchen and wait staff at Comet Café learned this firsthand when management shut down the operation after complaints about untenable working conditions.

Molly Kiefer, the kitchen lead at Wonderstate, had a big role in the success of this effort.

“The support we have received from communities within and beyond Milwaukee has been significant and I am so grateful for everyone who has reached out in support of our effort,” Kiefer said.

Although the shop is closing for a time, Kiefer expressed pride in their collective accomplishment.

“While the closing affects what the union will look like over the next few months, the union will still be present for future employees and we are excited they will be able to benefit,” Keifer said. “This is particularly meaningful to me, because it gives baristas and bakers in Milwaukee the opportunity to practice the craft they love and have a union job, something that isn't readily available in the Milwaukee coffee community.”

Wonderstate was not the first coffee shop to lead a unionization effort in Milwaukee, but they were the first to win. Early in 2019, workers at Stonecreek Coffee led the charge with an initial effort (also with IBT Local 344), but eventually lost that battle. Workers at Colectivo are currently campaigning to form a union through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 494.

Wonderstate management has vaguely told their employees that the shop will reopen in 2021 though no date has yet been set. During that time, IBT Local 344’s newest members will be negotiating for fair pay, benefits, and their right to return to work when the shop reopens.

The victory at Wonderstate is not the only union win for workers in Milwaukee but the latest. Several weeks before the vote at the coffee shop, workers at the Milwaukee Art Museum won their union election and officially joined the security guards in their workplace represented by the International Association of Machinists.

In addition, workers at two local nonprofits – Voces de la Frontera and Wisconsin Voices – are in various stages of their own organizing drives. An online panel set to include members of these various efforts across industries is being planned by the Young Workers Committee of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. This event is expected to be held late next month.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #union #TeamstersLocal344 #WonderstateCoffee

Milwaukee, WI – Workers at Milwaukee's Stone Creek Coffee unveiled a petition drive, March 4, to support a several months’ long organizing drive at retail shops and production facilities. These young cafe baristas, cooks, bakers, warehouse workers and truck drivers have signed up in ever-growing numbers to be represented by Teamsters Local 344, the Sales and Service Industry union that represents UPS workers as well as Coke, Pepsi and bakery and linen companies in southeastern Wisconsin.

Maria Brondino, the recording secretary of the organizing committee and one of the longest-serving members, said, “We are forming a union because we want an equal voice in our workplace. We believe the best way to achieve this lasting change is through a collective voice.”

These workers, overwhelmingly women and nearly all in their 20s or early 30s, are part of a rising movement of young people looking to join unions and fight for higher wages, better benefits and working conditions. Last summer, the Pew Research foundation published evidence that showed that 68% of all people age 18-29 view unions more favorably than corporations.

Kellie Lutz, the chairperson of Teamsters Local 344's Milwaukee Coffee Workers Organizing Committee, said of the effort, “This effort comes from every corner of the company, every location, and every type of job. We are excited, energized and ready to negotiate as equals at Stone Creek.”

When these young workers succeed, they will be only the second unionized retail coffee company in the United States, and the first of its kind in Wisconsin. As workers look to find ways to fight back against stagnant wages and declining working conditions, organizing efforts of this kind light the way to a brighter future.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal344 #StoneCreekCoffee #MilwaukeeCoffeeWorkersOrganizingCommittee

Milwaukee, WI – On the overcast morning of June 22, over 50 package car drivers and part-time workers at the Elm Grove hub came to work early for a parking lot rally led by Teamsters Local 344.

The mood of the rally was set by news the night before that a ‘handshake deal’ had been reached between the national UPS and Teamster negotiating committees that included lower-than-expected wages for part-time workers and a second tier driver classification that would work weekends.

The workers present were not sold that this was the best contract their negotiators could get. Many brought up the fact that UPS is one of the most profitable companies in the country, yet they refuse to pay part-time workers a living wage or pay all drivers at the same wage rate.

Fired up, the workers rallied with their Local leadership, all in agreement that the only way they can get a contract they deserve is if they stand united. Local 344 has never flinched from stating that their part-time members deserve a living wage, that drivers deserve more time with their families and that their contract needs to have the strongest anti-harassment language possible to protect workers from zealous supervisors.

The rally ended with the workers chanting, “Who are we? Teamsters!” and “Worker power!” It was clear to all present that Wisconsin's Teamsters will not accept a concessionary contract, and are willing to fight for better.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #union #UPS #TeamstersLocal344