January 2, 2026

On Thanksgiving weekend November 26, baristas working at Blue Bottle Coffee stores went out on strike, which included 120 workers in nine unionized stores in locations in Boston and East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in California.

Blue Bottle Independent Union is  a member-led. It started last year and since then, has been able to unionize 10 cafes in two different states, 12 percent of Blue Bottle’s total locations. However, Blue Bottle company has engaged in union busting, firing organizers, installing surveillance cameras, and bargaining in bad faith.

Many baristas struggle financially, some live out of their vehicles, skip meals or even sell their plasma to pay bills. According to the union, around 25 percent of baristas are on food stamps/SNAP. Baristas are pressuring the company for better workplace protections and an increase in wages.

On the same day that workers authorized a strike, the company fired Abby Sadow, a barista in Boston who was also a lead organizer and the union’s communications director. Abbey was fired while the strike vote was in recess. The union argued that “there is no coincidence… a clear attempt to take back control as workers prepare to go on strike.” The reason given for the firing was that she wore green pants. The Union has filed unfair labor practice charges in response.

According to the Bay Area Current, Max Plotkin, a barista in Berkeley, said a coworker named Ashely was fired. The accusation was theft, although no evidence was given. Plotkin used to be an engineer in NASA, but was laid off by the Trump administration. Plotkin specifically applied to work at Blue Bottle because it was unionized.

A barista, who preferred to stay anonymous due to fear of the corporation retaliating, said that the company has not changed a single thing. She spends $220 a month on healthcare. Blue Bottle considers 28 hours full time. The wages are two thirds of the living wage in the East Bay, and workers don’t even qualify for SNAP because they earn “too much.”

On December 1, the union ended the four-day strike. This was the first strike by the union. With donations, the union will be able to compensate workers for the loss of their wages. Although the company has not responded to the strike, the union demands that the company reinstate the organizers who it said were illegally fired.

To donate to the BBIU union. BBIU: Instagram,

To sign the Petition, “No contract, No customers”

by Abigail Banales Sendano