A prominent coffee chain in the Washington, D.C. area, Compass Coffee, is embroiled in controversy as accusations arise of hiring numerous associates of management, including local food service executives and an Uber lobbyist, to influence an impending union election scheduled for July 16.
Workers from seven Compass Coffee locations, which account for more than a third of the company’s stores, declared their intention to unionize in May 2024. Compass Coffee operates 18 cafes across Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia, with its products available in local grocery stores.
Compass Coffee United, the union representing the workers, claimed on Twitter that the company hired 124 additional employees at the unionizing locations. They also accused the chain of retroactively altering worker schedules to ensure the new hires could vote in the union election.
Penina Meier-Silverman, a shift supervisor at the Georgetown Compass Coffee store, expressed her concerns: “We received their first voter list. There were 43 people on the Georgetown cafe list, most of whom I have never met or seen in the cafe before. The cafes are just flooded with new baristas. We also saw that they were forging schedules for days that have already passed, so they put people on the schedule for days that have passed that were never at work.”
Meier-Silverman stated that union organizing began over a year ago in response to issues such as the elimination of tips, unfair disciplinary actions, and broken equipment. “Really all we’re asking for is just respect, safe working conditions, fair compensation, and benefits, fundamentally, which all equates to just human decency and respect in the workplace. It’s been a very clear response that they intend to do everything in their power to pack this election and kill it,” she added.
The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Compass Coffee. Meier-Silverman noted plans to file additional charges over the mass hiring and alleged retaliation faced by workers since the union campaign went public, including her own write-up for discussing the union with a customer.
Among the newly hired baristas are local restaurant managers, including Cullen Gilchrist, CEO and co-founder of Union Kitchen, who has overseen a contentious union organizing campaign at his own specialty grocery chain in the D.C. area. Gilchrist did not respond to requests for comment.
After the allegations surfaced, Liz “Tizzy” Brown, a member of Uber’s federal affairs team, clarified her involvement: “I recently attended a training on June 9 alongside several other new hires at Compass, and as part of that training I signed the same paperwork everyone there did. However, I never worked a shift beyond that initial training, and as soon as this all came to light I reached out to Compass and asked to be removed from their employment system. This was entirely in my personal capacity as Tizzy Brown, and has nothing to do with my full-time job.”
Senator Bernie Sanders criticized Compass Coffee’s actions in a Twitter post: “Claiming that a lobbyist from Uber & CEOs from other companies are workers in order to rig a union election is totally absurd & disgusting. I strongly support Compass Workers and call on Compass Coffee DC to respect the rights of their workers to organize & end its union busting.”
Compass Coffee United also reported issues with an impostor Twitter account, which has duplicated their posts and made pro-Palestine statements. The union plans to survey members on such issues after the union election.
Michael Haft, owner and CEO of Compass Coffee, responded via email: “We believe all employees of Compass Coffee at the locations that have been petitioned are eligible. The list reflects the current employees at the time of the vote. As such, we will stay in close communication with our partners to ensure the most up-to-date list on the 14th as there is often normal turnover and growth in the service industry, especially seasonally, and we expect our final list to be reflective of that.” He added, “Due to privacy concerns, we have a longstanding policy not to comment on individual employees without their consent.”
The workers aim to unionize with the SEIU-affiliated Workers United, which represents over 450 unionized Starbucks stores. According to organizers, 84% of Compass Coffee workers have signed union authorization cards.