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As tourists flooded into Harvard Square for the Head of the Charles Regatta, the line at Blank Street extended outside the store and around the block. Lines outside the door are not uncommon for the popular coffee spot — and are just one reason that unionized baristas are pushing for changes in the workplace.
Workers at Blank Street’s Harvard Square location said that long lines, inadequate resources, and low paychecks led them and six other Boston-area locations to vote to unionize this past June.
Now, the baristas are prepared to take up their demands for workplace changes as they begin their first contract negotiations with management, which started this past Thursday.
Blank Street was founded in 2020 by two entrepreneurs in Brooklyn who rapidly expanded their business with the backing of venture capital and private equity firms. Their business model is based on efficiency — small storefronts, grab-and-go ordering, and automated machines that prepare drinks. This model allows Blank Street to employ just two to three employees per shift, cutting down on labor and production costs.
Blank Street’s focus on efficiency, however, has been the galvanizing force for many baristas to call for unionization.
A worker at the Harvard Square location of Blank Street wrote in a statement to The Crimson that the high demand for their coffee, coupled with the minimal staff and product available, adds significant stress to the baristas’ lives.
The worker added that the intense working environment is not reflected in their compensation — especially since the Harvard Square location gets the fewest tips of any store, all while boasting high sales.
Blank Street management did not respond to a request for comment on these issues.
The roughly 70 employees across seven Boston-area Blank Street locations started the organizing process for forming a union this past May. A supermajority of them approved a letter to Blank Street management asking them to voluntarily recognize the union, which management did not recognize.
In a subsequent mail-in ballot election, employees voted in favor of unionization with the New England Joint Board union. The result was then certified in June by the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board.
Emma R. Delaney, a worker at the New England Joint Board, said that coffee shops often unionize to give workers a say in a highly demanding job.
“It’s something that is very tangible in that you, through unionizing, now have a say in what your workplace and your terms and conditions look like,” she said.
Delaney, who previously was also a barista at Boston-based Pavement Coffeehouse, said that Blank Street can draw inspiration from previous unionization efforts to find a model for their first contract. Employees at Pavement began organizing a union in 2021, and later reached a first contract in 2022.
“Blank Street is just looking to get a fair first contract that is in line with previous work that has been done, previous negotiations have happened,” she said.
Delaney added that some of the items that have successfully been in other coffeehouse contracts include control over scheduling, increased wages, dental insurance, and a policy that allows workers to take time off to support both blood relatives and chosen family.
Though the first negotiation meeting has been completed, Delaney said that there is still a long path ahead for Blank Street workers before they achieve a first contract agreement. She noted that Pavement negotiations took about 30 meetings before coming to a contract.
But Delaney is optimistic that Blank Street will be able to follow in the footsteps of earlier coffee house unionization efforts.
“You have to reinvent the wheel with the first time. But now there’s all these other coffee contracts that have been negotiated and renegotiated,” Delaney said.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel this time,” she added.
— Staff writer Jaya N. Karamcheti can be reached at jaya.karamcheti@thecrimson.com.
— Staff writer Kevin Zhong can be reached at kevin.zhong@thecrimson.com.
