Spyhouse Coffee Workers Announce Intent To Unionize

cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp){cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(a){if(a) AnvatoPlayer(“p0”).init({“mcp”:”cbs”,”width”:”100%”,”height”:”100%”,”video”:”4702319″,”autoplay”:false,”titleVisible”:false,”accessKey”:”5VD6Eyd6djewbCmNwBFnsJj17YAvGRwl”,”accessControl”:{“preview”:false},”pInstance”:”p0″,”plugins”:{“heartbeat”:{“account”:”cbslocal-global-unified”,”publisherId”:”cbslocal”,”jobId”:”sc_va”,”marketingCloudId”:”823BA0335567497F7F000101@AdobeOrg”,”trackingServer”:”cbsdigitalmedia.hb.omtrdc.net”,”customTrackingServer”:”cbsdigitalmedia.d1.sc.omtrdc.net”,”chapterTracking”:false,”version”:”1.5″},”comscore”:{“clientId”:”3000023″,”c3″:”Minnesota.cbslocal.com”},”dfp”:{“clientSide”:{“adTagUrl”:”http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=2×2&iu=/4128/cbs.minn&ciu_szs&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=xml_vast2&unviewed_position_start=1&url=[referrer_url]&description_url=[description_url]&correlator=[timestamp]”,”keyValues”:{“siteSection”:”video-default”}}},”moat”:{“clientSide”:{“partnerCode”:”cbslocalanvatovideo181732609431″}}},”token”:”default”,”expectPreroll”:true,”expectPrerollTimeout”:5});});});

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The workers at another popular Twin Cities establishment have announced their intent to unionize.

Employees at Spyhouse Coffee announced their intent on Thursday, speaking about how the year has brought challenges for service employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We decided to unionize at this time especially because the people who are on the front lines working at the cafes, we are not feeling protected, we are not feeling like our voice is being heard, so it came to the point where we wanted to unionize and we need to be part of the decisions that directly impact us and directly impact our customers,” said Grace Erpenbach, an employee at Spyhouse.

The 39 workers across six locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul will be under the Unite Here Local 17 union, which represents thousands of service employees throughout the Twin Cities.

Employees said they were inspired by the number of other local establishments that have also unionized in recent months, though responses from employers have been mixed on those announcements.

For example, when Lawless Distilling Company and Stillheart Distillery and Cocktail Lounge unionized, management voluntarily recognize their intent. However, when Surly employees announced they were unionizing, two days later management announced the Brew Hall – their place of employment – would close indefinitely.

Representatives for Unite Here Local 17 will be sending a letter to Spyhouse Coffee management later in the afternoon asking them to recognize their union.

Source: CBS Minnesota