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‘We just can’t keep up’: Blank Street baristas to unionize as chain rapidly expands in Boston
The chain, originating from New York City, has ballooned to seven locations in Boston since 2022, with more to come. Workers say they're overworked and understaffed.
Workers at the rapidly expanding coffee chain Blank Street have filed for a union election, as baristas at the mobile- and technology-focused coffeeshops say they’re overworked while understaffed.
“When you don’t meet the needs of every store and keep opening more and more stores, it’s very hard to staff those correctly and have everything you need to successfully run a cafe,” said Lauryn Lopez, a Blank Street Coffee barista who has worked shifts at each of Boston’s seven locations.
Lopez, a former Starbucks employee, is one of the chain’s employees leading workers toward unionization represented by the New England Joint Board UNITE HERE.
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An overwhelming majority of workers across the seven locations signed union authorization cards, both Lopez and a union spokesperson said. Lopez estimated there are 65 to 85 workers across the seven locations. The union spokesperson declined to say how many signed union cards.
Blank Street has a “lack” of staffing, Lopez said, despite a dramatic increase in sales since last summer. She said there’s just three managers across all of Boston’s locations, and most of the tiny shops don’t even have a break room.
“It is just an effort to make sure that everyone has a voice,” Lopez said about the union. “It isn’t really about someone’s sole agenda of what I believe a union should be or what we should deserve. I believe that it’s building something together.”
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She said that Blank Street could subsidize transportation, similar to a Starbucks program for baristas.
The union first notified Blank Street Coffee of their intent to organize a union Friday, May 2. On the following Monday, they asked the chain to willingly recognize the union.
Emma Delaney, a spokesperson for the union and a former Pavement Coffeehouse barista, said Blank Street didn’t reply to their message and UNITE HERE filed for a union election later that week.
The messages were sent to Richard Holmes, Blank Street’s regional manager, and Wendy Johnson, the director of U.S. operations, Delaney said.
“As we grow and expand Blank Street into a larger and more complex operation, having the support of a union will ensure workers are protected along the way,” the union wrote, according to a copy of the letter shared with Boston.com. “It will also attract and retain employees, as well as draw in new business from community members who increasingly want to support the large ongoing coffee workers movement in New England and the rest of the country.”
Blank Street’s beginnings in Brooklyn as an automated chain with investor backing
Since beginning as a food cart in Brooklyn in 2020, Blank Street has ballooned to more than 50 locations in New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and London. Locally, Blank Street has grown from one location in Beacon Hill in 2022 to additions in Back Bay, Brookline, and soon Downtown Crossing.
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The company emphasizes a quick experience with machine-brewed espresso, allowing the company to serve more customers in less time. The company uses Eversys Espresso Machines, according to Morning Brew, which advertise that “baristas only need to push a button to brew a delicious premium cup of coffee or shot of espresso.”
According to one employee, Blank Street also prioritizes mobile orders over in-person interactions and customer service, including through a new “Regulars” loyalty program that is subscription-based.
“We just can’t keep up,” Lopez said, “and we serve not the best service that we can in person to these customers that are waiting in line because we are told to prioritize online tickets.”
Like other growing chains (see Chipotle or Cava), Blank Street is backed by venture capitalists, including $67 million raised a year after their launch. Their high-profile investors include General Catalyst and Tiger Global, according to The New York Times.
Blank Street follows Starbucks’, Pavement’s unionizing footsteps
In Boston, workers at multiple coffee chains have ben galvanized to form unions in recent years. Pavement Coffeehouse workers organized a union in 2021, while workers went on strike at Starbucks locations in Boston and nationwide in 2022 when their union was not recognized.
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Last week, unionized workers at five of the six Blue Bottle Coffee locations in Boston walked out over bargaining disputes.
In 2022, locally owned Darwin’s in Cambridge closed all four of its locations after 30 years in business. The closure came just over a year after a tumultuous battle for workers there to unionize, including a rally outside Darwin’s owner’s home. Workers said they were struggling to get by on $14.50 hourly wages.
A shift lead at the Blank Street location in Harvard Square, who spoke to Boston.com on the condition of anonymity, said she’s leaving the chain for personal reasons, adding that she’s “burnt out.” She spoke to Boston.com around noon on a weekday, saying her four colleagues on her shift that day hadn’t been trained because the store was too busy.
“People get overwhelmed, and then they quit,” she said. “They (Blank Street) don’t know how to work with how fast they’re growing.”
Blank Street did not respond to a request for comment.
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