Coffee People ft. Alex Pyne, Blue Bottle Independent Union

Full video posted below, or watch and/or listen to Coffee People on:
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Guests: Alex Pyne, Barista at Blue Bottle Coffee and President of the Blue Bottle Independent Union (BBIU) representing employees of some Blue Bottle Coffee locations.
What they drink: Black coffee or a mocha.
Find On Online: https://www.bluebottleunion.org/ • Bluesky App • Instagram • Tik Tok

"The best cup of coffee is the one I can get in my hands."
• Alex Pyne

Editor's note: At no time do we, or our guest Alex Pyne, represent the opinions or intent of Blue Bottle Coffee or its parent company, Nestlé S.A. We did reach out to the Blue Bottle Coffee P.R. team for comment. At the time of publication, we have not received a response.

Alex Pyne's appearance is directly related to a Blue Bottle Public Relations person reaching out to me about having an executive on the show. I agreed it would be an interesting conversation, but on the condition that I could ask questions about the Blue Bottle Union negotiations. I did indicate they could choose not to answer. Our show isn't live, but I was going to ask. They politely declined the invitation.

During that back and forth, I reached out to the BBIU. Alex agreed to appear. He was a barista first, who got his start, like so many others, at Starbucks. There he was drawn into the culture of coffee, and in particular, the community of coffee people he worked with.

The rumblings of unionizing were already taking place when he joined Blue Bottle Coffee. Immediately, he was drawn to being part of an organizing movement, quite effusively, I might add. There was some local precedent, as nearby locations of coffee chains were already representing what union action could look like.

So...what is a union?

Per the U.S. Dept. of Labor:

A labor union is a group of two or more employees who join together to advance common interests such as wages, benefits, schedules and other employment terms and conditions. Joining together – or “acting collectively” – workers represented by unions have a powerful voice that strengthens their ability to negotiate with their employer about their concerns. Higher wages, health insurance, vacation days, paid sick leave and retirement benefits are a few examples of what workers achieve through their unions. Workers may also pursue other enhancements – such as flexible scheduling, protections against harassment and safer working conditions – that improve the quality of jobs and workers’ well-being.

Unions are membership-driven, democratic organizations governed by laws that require financial transparency and integrity, fair elections and other democratic standards, and fair representation of all workers.

Each unionizing effort is unique, although some industries have larger unions to create a more unified workforce, for example, the United Auto Workers union (UAW) that includes employees not just from more than one company, but from multiple industries, including health care, gambling, and higher education.

It's important to note that Alex isn't doing this alone, but he is motivated to pursue this effort because he cares about his co-workers. Even if he doesn't receive any long-term benefit, he believes this unionizing effort will help create safe, foundational workspaces where workers have rights.

The UAW has nearly a million active and retired employees. The BBIU is on the other end of the spectrum. They are only beginning their journey. The challenges facing the UAW and its approximately 400,000 active members won't be the same as those facing the Blue Bottle Coffee employees seeking their first labor contract. However, their goals are the same. They both aim to improve working conditions, increase pay, and provide longer-term job security for their members.

So what is a union? It's leverage.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

1st phase of the BBIU union building effort: Social engagement. Connecting with co-workers to better understand what they would want from a unionization effort. They needed to create a majority consensus on their goals.
2nd phase: Go directly to Blue Bottle Coffee ownership to request recognition of their employee organization. They were rebuffed.
3rd phase: Hold an election to pursue recognition from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB.gov). They were recognized as a union.
The National Labor Relations Board requires the two sides to meet to discuss a contract, but they don't require that they come to a resolution for that first employment contract.
So the question I had for Alex is: If a collective bargaining group can negotiate for higher wages and better working conditions, why would someone be anti-union? His impressions leaned toward confusion over what the union does, the fear of retaliation by management through reduced hours or even termination, or the closing of their coffee shop in favor of one that isn't unionizing.
It is hard to generalize the pros and cons. Some arguments long used against unionizing include creating challenges to rise through the ranks if seniority is a strong union consideration, paying dues for representation, creating an adversarial relationship with the ownership or management, and finally, the more a union grows, the more power it has.

That can be good if the leadership is representing their members and creating an open culture, but like any organization, there can be a diverse range of opinions, expectations, and local perspectives that challenge the ability of the union to be concise in their demands and supportive of all its members.

SmartAsset.com compiled this pros & cons list pertaining to unions that is helpful for seeing the big picture points.
The BBIU is an independent union, and they are still relatively small.
If Nestlé sells Blue Bottle how will it impact the union? The answer is unknown, and will stay that way as long as a contract has not been agreed upon between the BBIU and Blue Bottle Coffee, which may or may not happen anytime soon.
That hope is that the two sides are negotiating in good faith, but in theory, one side can drag out the meetings indefinitely.
What is the BBIU asking for:
- A living wage in the range of $30/hour for the stores in the higher income locations.
- More consistent working schedules.
- Protections from customer harassment.
The two sides have already agreed to:
- Just-cause protections against termination.
- Protections for immigrant workers.

I asked Alex why anyone outside of the BBIU should support their cause. His answer was bigger than just the benefit of the union to its members. He suggested that without an increased floor for baristas, in particular as it relates to hourly pay, the industry isn't going to be sustainable for people to continue working in it, especially in metro regions where the cost of living is higher. When having multiple jobs isn't enough to pay rent, those workers will go elsewhere, and cafes will close or never open. No baristas means no fancy coffees at the local shop.

The BBIU is asking customers to boycott Blue Bottle Coffee until a labor contract is reached. This creates an odd tension in which they are asking for more from the corporation, but also potentially making the business less tenable by reducing sales. The employees will also be making less money with the loss of tips and reduced hours. The BBIU's goal is that the financial hit will motivate the negotiators on the other side of the table to make some concessions.

Another option the unionizers have to make a point or flex their power is to stage a strike or walk-out, as they did in the fall of 2025. During that time, they've used money donated to their efforts to pay for the hours lost by the barista team.

LINKS

During the episode, I mentioned that other great coffee news outlets have been reporting on the Blue Bottle unionization effort and the potential sale of the company by their parent Nestlé S.A. The following links will provide more context to this interview.

The following two links come from the Blue Bottle Independent Union or were written, in part, by members of the Union.

JUST FOR FUN

All this talk of unionizing is heavy. It's important, but it is heavy. So to help ease your emotional load today, click the image to try running your own coffee shop. I ran out of milk, and my reputation took a hit.

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