February 20, 2024
Courtesy/Glaive Perry
Organizing workers at Ultimo Coffee, above, are seeking to raise $7,500 to cover the income they may lose during a potential strike. They are trying to negotiate their first contract with Ultimo since unionizing.
Ultimo Coffee workers are seeking to raise $7,500 to cover the income they would lose if they opt to strike in the weeks ahead.
Last week, 92% of workers at Ultimo's Newbold and Rittenhouse locations voted to authorize a strike due to stalled contract negotiations. Ultimo is the only employer that relies on Local 80 food service workers that has not reached a first contract with its newly-unionized workers within a year, according to Philadelphia Joint Board Workers United.
The next bargaining session is set for Wednesday, Feb. 28. On Monday, Ultimo workers created a GoFundMe that has raised $6,700 for their strike relief fund. For Ultima barista Glaive Perry, that support shows that community members and customers understand what unionization can mean for the cafe industry at large.
"Customers understand that a barista who has a say and has dignity through a contract is going to be a happy barista and is going to really improve the experience for them also," Perry said. "It's something that benefits all parties involved."
The workers are seeking higher wages and protections amid hazards like the COVID-19 pandemic and the wildfire smoke that prompted health alerts last summer. They also want to make barista jobs more accessible to people of varying abilities, including those who cannot stand for six hours.
Ultimo employees start at $12 per hour, but typically make $20 per hour with tips. Ultimo also offers a subsidy covering the difference if $20 isn't reached, though it's not usually needed, Perry said.
"What we want, which throughout this whole process has stayed very, very consistent, is we want a protected say," Perry said. "We want respect and dignity in our work and we want material improvements to the conditions of our jobs."
The workers began bargaining with Aaron and Elizabeth Ultimo, who own the coffee shops, in January 2023, Perry said. But bargaining sessions often have overlapped with the starts or ends of shifts, making it hard for workers to attend, according to Ultimo employees. Both parties also filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, though they've been withdrawn.
Adam Ultimo said the business's initial contract offer included health insurance and paid time accruals that matched the agreements of another Local 80 coffee shop.
"We are continuing to meet with and work through all remaining proposals with the union, and hope to come to a mutually agreeable conclusion," Ultimo said in an email.
Perry said organizing employees have received pushback from Ultimo for a contract proposal that goes beyond demands for health care and paid time off. But she said baristas only have begun organizing recently, and they have unique needs that need to be addressed.
"Different groups of workers have, oftentimes, many shared concerns but there are some specifics that are going to look different," Perry said. "There are some ways in which atypical proposals are improvements on standards that have been set in other industries and in previous decades of the labor movement. Basically, times are changing and the way union contracts look also has to change."
Ultimo voluntarily recognized the unionization of its Newbold and Rittenhouse workers in 2022. The Graduate Hospital and Germantown locations voted to unionize, but later filed to decertify from the union.
According to the Inquirer, organizing workers have yet to receive a counter offer on wages, paid time off and health care, though the employees at the decertified locations received pay increases, higher guaranteed tip rates and a 40% employee discount.
Local 80 includes Elixr Coffee, Ultimo Coffee, Vibrant Coffee and ReAnimator Coffee. In December, ReAnimator and its workers reached a contract agreement after a multi-day strike. Vibrant workers began bargaining last week after they took steps to unionize last fall.
"Every time we win a strong contract for cafe workers, we prove again that it is possible and that it is necessary for these jobs and for this industry," Perry said. "It shows workers at other shops that change is possible and that dignity can be won."
