Minneapolis isn’t new to unionizing, but something exciting is in the water
There has been a so-called recent boom of establishments organizing in the Twin Cities, but what people forget is that Minnesota has a long history of unions with the St. Paul Printers union, the first in Minnesota, forming in 1856.
The most recent wave of restaurants and cafes looking to unionize can be traced back to the spring of 2022 when a St. Paul Starbucks became Minnesota’s first of the chain to unionize after being inspired by the first Starbucks to successfully unionize (December 2021) in Buffalo, New York.
In November of 2023, local music venue First Avenue unionized, joining Unite Here Local 17. Around 200 workers signed a petition asking First Ave to recognize their union and succeeded. Recently chef Ann Kim’s uptown restaurant“Kim’s” workers successfully unionized in June 2024. Though Kim did not choose to recognize the petition, the workers won their union by National Labor Relations Board vote.
The latest restaurants to join the fight are Colita and Café Cerés, both owned by restauranteur Daniel Del Prado. According to Twin Cities’ Business Magazine Del Prado operates about 16 locations in the Twin Cities, employs over 600 people, and generates an annual revenue of around $40 million. “I love capitalism. I love Adam Smith,” Del Prado is quoted as saying.
In June, around 90 workers at Colita and Café Cerés came forward with their petition asking the DDP restaurant group to recognize their union. Much like Kim, Del Prado did not. The votes are to come later this summer. Though the groups organized together, as they are part of the same restaurant group, if they’re successful they’ll function as two separate unions.
“Minneapolis has always been a union town,” said Bee Davis, a barista at Café Cerés. “I think specifically the push for restaurants to unionize is important because the restaurant industry is kind of a wild west right now built off of exploitation and that’s just kind of a norm in the industry.”
In a statement made to Star Tribune, Colita server Sara Zabinski said "I've been in the industry for about 10 years now, and I've gone from shop to shop. It always feels like the grass could be greener. But in reality, the problems are there in every shop you go to, I really want to make Colita my career. A real career! I don't see why the service industry doesn'tdeserve that."
A lead barista at Café Cerés, Mariam Karkache, talked about the desire to collaborate with management. “We see a lot of potential with improvements for the cafe and improvements for our working conditions, I hope that [management] can see that we’re coming from a place of good faith, and we want to collaborate and have a conversation.”
Workers are hoping to not only be granted a “seat at the table” with management but also receive better health insurance, higher wages, and more regular scheduling. Silvia Jimenez, a server at Colita, said “I personally want my hours to be respected, and to have better wages.” Jimenez expands further in a statement issued via Local 17’s Instagram, “Some days we arrive to work scheduled as a server, but find out after we arrived that we are instead assigned to run food or polish glassware. This can be a big difference in how much money we earn that shift. We deserve to know what job we will be working before we arrive so we can plan our budget accordingly.”
“I think one of the things unitization will do for the city is bringing democracy and protection for labor and respect for labor into an industry that has been so top down for so long.” Says Davis.
Resources
Jones, J. (2022, April 27). In historic vote, St. Paul Starbucks is Minnesota’s first to unionize. Eater Twin Cities. https://twincities.eater.com/2022/4/27/23045029/st-paul-starbucks-minnesota-first-to-unionize-union-vote
Jones, J. (2024a, May 29). Here’s why workers are pushing to unionize at Kim’s [updated]. Eater Twin Cities. https://twincities.eater.com/2024/5/29/24167209/kims-union-ann-kim-restaurant-workers-uptown-minneapolis
Jones, J. (2024b, June 18). Workers at Daniel del Prado’s Restaurants Colita and Café Cerés plan to Unionize. Eater Twin Cities. https://twincities.eater.com/2024/6/18/24181355/colita-cafe-ceres-restaurant-workers-unionize-dani-del-prado-minneapolis-labor-movement
Kucera, B. (n.d.). Chronology of Minnesots Workers and Their Organizations. Carlson School-University of Minnesota. https://carlsonschool.umn.edu/sites/carlsonschool.umn.edu/files/2019-10/MN%20Labor%20timeline_handout_2016_0.pdf
Nelson, D. (2024, June 26). Workers at Daniel del Prado’s colita and cafe plan to Unionize. Bring Me the News. https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-lifestyle/workers-at-daniel-del-prados-colita-and-cafe-plan-to-unionize
Timar-Wilcox, E. (2023, November 3). Employees at all seven First Avenue Music Venues Unionize. MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/11/03/employees-at-all-seven-first-avenue-music-venues-vote-to-unionize
